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FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES 
OF    NEW-YORK 


LES    SATYRES,"  REGNIER,  ELZEVIR    1652 

BINDING     IN     MOSAIC,    BY      TR  A  U  TZ  -  B  A  U  ZONNE  T  . 


HENRI  PENE  DU  BOIS 


c/oitz  UDZtvate  Jotbzaued 
of%ew-^ozk 

A  CONTRIBUTION    TO   THE    HISTORY  OF 
BIBLIOPHILISM    IN  AMERICA 

PREFACE  BY  OCTAVE    UZANNE 


NEW-YORK 

DUPRAT  &  CO. 

1892 


Copyright,  1891,  by  Duprat  &  Co. 


LIBRARY  SCHOOL 


TO 

OCTAVE   UZANNE, 

PARIS: 

(^ratitutie— ^Hftoiott 

HENRI  PENE  DU  BOIS, 
HEW-YORK. 


PREFACE  BY  OCTAVE  UZANNE. 

^axid,  le  s6  Octobte,  l8gi, 

c)7Bf  &€enzl  S^etie  du  cBoidj 

Youd  voulez  bien,  cfiez  DTBondleuz,  man- 
noncet  \>ohe  pzochatne  publication,  "  Sluatte 
SBibliotkequed  ^atticulieted  de  ^ew-Rjork," 
qui  doit  detviz,  paz  La  duite,  a  laSidtoize  de  la 
aoibliopkilie  en  Q/^mezique* 

youd  ajoutez  qu'il  voud  dezait  agzeable  de 
publiez  quelqued  ligned  de  moi  en  tete  de  ce 
"Juivze  d  Oz '  ded  amouzeux  du  livze  aux 
Statd-Hhnid,  et  je  me  zendd  audditot  a  votze 
invitation,  d'autant  plud  volontiezd  que  Je  duid 
en  quelque  dozte  le  pazzain  de  cet  ouvzage,  dans 
I'ancien  Jpivze  ou  voud  euted  acced  comtne  te- 
dacteuz  cozzedpondant  pendant  pludieuzd  anneed  t 
Je  ne  dauzaid  I'oubliez, 

(o'edt,  dand  aucun  doute,  en  memoize  de  ce 
pazzainage  qu  il  voud  convient  de  me  demandez 
di  Je  veux  bien  agzeez  la  dedicace  de  ce  livze 
cuzieux,  et  cedt  egalement  en  douveniz  de  nod 

5 


banned  zelatlond  qu  it  me  plait  d  acceptez  cet 
hommage  lomtatn, 

[)' at  gtand  dedit  cutieux  de  lite  i^otte  etude, 
pzinctpalement  patcequ  elle  ttaite  de  quatte 
celebzed  cabinetd  new-yotkaid  dont  led  "btblio- 
tkequed  mezvcilleuded  hantcnt  douvent  led  con- 
wzdattond  ded  amateuzd  de  zhaziA  avUes  duz  la 
bibliophilie  da  iljouveau  cJTBonde, 

^azmi  ced  amateuzd  d'outze-atlantlque, 
dont  voud  allez  etze  le  btbliogzapke,  deux 
font  paztle  de  la  Societe  ded  "  cBlbliophiled 
(oontennpozalnd"  et,  a  ce  tltze,  deja  lid  m.e  dont 
ckezd;  deux  autzed  dont  membzed  du  "^zollet 
(olub  ,  ,  ,  et  amicozum,  c  edt-a-dize  quild 
dettennent  chez  eux  ded  zelluzed  aux  ozd  ecla- 
tantd  digneed  pat  2)ezome,  £e  Radeon,  cBoogez 
^ayne,  cJTBattkewd,  c)T^aziud-c)7Qlckel  et 
autzed  ''endoleilleuzd  de  mazoqulnd, ' 

^ommxnt  voulez-\>oud  que  je  ne  m'lntezedde 
pad  a  de  teld  dTBecened  ded  beaux  livzed,  lozdque 
Je  czoid  davolz  que  I'un  d'eux  edt  cUlo,  IJolly- 
ODavodlot,  un  ded  plud  fezventd  bibliognodted 
du  globe,  qui  jadid,  en  de  longued  lettted  az- 
dented  et  dpizttuclled,  m.e  faldait  communiez 
ai)ec  ded  entkoudtadmed }  quand  Je  pezgoid  qu'un 
autze  zepond  a  la  cazactezidtique  bibliopklledque 
6 


de  cJVd'  Qeorge  cBeach  de  cFotedt  dont  J'ai  out 
dite  metveille  el  que  led  cB ihlio-Gontempo  dont 
heuteux  de  compter,  dand  leut  deifi, 

yotte  livze,  clier  dVooiwleut,  deza  apptecte 
pat  toud  led  fzangald  dtlettanted  de  livted,  cat 
La  btbliopfiilte  poddede  une  langue  unwetdelle 
qui  defie  toud  led  volapuck  du  monde,  et  qui 
ne  teclame  aucun  intetptete. 

SI  deta,j'en  dutd  addute,  fott  bieti  accueilli 
a  zhatid,  auddi  bien  qua  Jbondted,  et  nod  bond 
amid  led  cRjudded,  meme,  ne  detont  pad  inden- 
dibled  a  I'eloquence  ded  beauted  dectited  pat 
voud. 

Sije  n  etaid  rive  a  med  condtantd  labeutd  dut 
led  quaid  de  la  <^eine,  et  dtl  m'etait  donne 
de  daidit  le  loidit  de  quelqued  demained  neced- 
daited  pout  paddet  au  payd  du  " ytoliet  (Blub," 
J'aimetaid  voud  avoit  pout  cicetone  dand  ded 
mitifiqucd  libtaitied  dont  voud  \>oud  eted  fait 
i  annonciateut, 

Qe  duid  dut  qua  iBew-yotk,  patmi  \>oud, 
Je  me  dentitaid  dand  une  intim,ite  amicale, 
douce  et  penettante,  cat  la  paddion  du  Iwte 
unit  toud  ceux  qui  en  dont  atteintd,  et  il  ne  peut 
y  avoit  ni  gene  ni  ftoideut  lotdquc  led  maind 
palpitent  dut  de  nobled  m,atoquind  et  qu'une 
7 


admitation  tnutuelU  extadle  a  la  fold  ie  podded- 
deuz  et  don  hote, 

Jbed  telattond,  du  teste,  demennent  chaque 
Jout  plud  cotdiated  entte  btbtloplided  d'<S^me- 
zique  et  de  cFtance;  bientot,  gzace  aux  docieted, 
aux  tevued  dpeclaled,  aux  K>idited,  et  aux  fte- 
quentd  echanged  d'ldeed,  I  entente  deza  pat  fade 
et  ion  devta  aux  Iwted  qud  n'y  alt  plud 
d'ocean, 

SI  y  en  a  un  toutefold  a  cette  keute,  et  Je 
doid  a  cet  tnfini  aquattque  de  n  avoir  pu  lite 
votte  ouvtage  fut-ce  en  epteuved,  afin  d'avolt 
le  platdtt  de  le  pre  facet, 

Si  meut  ete  agteable  d'y  placet  une  ouvet- 
tute  de  ma  fagon,  en  connaiddance  de  mattete, 
JbaidAez  mot,  cependant,  faute  de  ne  pouvoit 
mieux  fatte,  douhattet  a  vod  quatte  m.ono- 
bibltocftapliied  un  ducced  continental,  et  ctoyez, 
chet  cJl^ondieut,  a  m-on  amicale  conftatcznite 
et  a  I'expzeddlon  de  med  dentimentd  de  haute 
bibltomanie  dympathique, 


LIST  OF  CHAPTERS. 

PAGE 

Preface  by  Octave  Uzanne 5 

The  Art  of  the  Decade 15 

Library  of  the  Romanticists 19 

The  Work  in  Detail 23 

Alfred  de  Vigny 34 

The  Art  of  Bookbinding 37 

Historical  Book-Covers 42 

Books  of  To-Day 54 

The  Elzevirs •         •  73 

The  Vignettists 84 

Original  Illustrations 92 

A  Blue  Diamond 103 

A  Book  of  Thackeray      .         .         .         .         .        .  108 

An  Epic  of  Pierrot 113 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Binding  in  mosaic,  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet  .        Frontispiece 

Ex-LlBRIS    C.  JoLLY-BaVOILLOT,  BY  GlACOMELLI  .  .  .19 

Binding  in  mosaic,  by  Cuzin  .  .  .  .  .  23 
Facsimile  of  letter  of  Victor  Hugo     .         .         .        •30 

Binding  made  for  Grolier 46 

Binding  by  William  Matthews  .....  62 
Original  illustration   by   George    H.     Boughton  to 

'*  Knickerbocker's  History  OF  New-York"  .  .  66 
Binding  inlaid  with  lily  of  silver,  by  Ruban  .  .  .80 
Ex-Libris  George  B.  de  Forest,  by  Paul  Avril      .         .        84 

Binding  by  Cobden-Sanderson 100 

Original    Illustration  by   Van   Muyden   to  Brillat- 

Savarin's    "  Physiologie   du    Gout"  .         .         .104 

Binding  in  mosaic,  BY  MoNNiER no 

Binding  in  mosaic,  by  De  Samblancx-Weckesser    .         .       112 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES 
OF  NEW-YORK 

firjJte  of  inprof^taile  i>oft?!#." 


THE   ART 
OF   THE   DECADE. 

J  HE  art  of  forming  a  library  was  divined  at  the  time  when 
the  French  unlearned  the  poetic  art  codified  by  Boileau.  At 
that  time  Didot  wrote  to  Lamartine  : 

' '  I  have  read  your  verses.  They  are  not  without  talent, 
but  they  are  without  learning.  They  resemble  nothing  re- 
ceived and  required  from  our  poets.  One  does  not  know 
where  you  have  taken  the  language,  the  ideas,  the  figures,  of 
this  poetry.  It  cannot  be  classified  with  any  definite  style ; 
it  is  a  pity,  for  there  is  harmony  in  your  verses.  Renounce 
these  novelties  which  would  denationalize  the  genius  of 
France ;  read  our  masters  Delille,  Parny,  Michaud,  Raynouard, 
Luce  de  Lancival,  Fontanes.  These  are  the  poets  cherished 
by  the  public  ;  resemble  somebody  if  you  wish  to  be  recog- 
nized and  read !  I  would  be  a  bad  counselor  if  I  encouraged 
you  to  publish  this  volume,  and  I  would  be  serving  you  badly 
by  publishing  it  at  my  expense." 

The  volume  was  the  "Meditations  Poetiques";    it  was 
printed  in  1820,  a  few  weeks  after  Didot's  letter,  and  at  Di- 
dot's  printing-house  if  not  at  his  expense.     Less  than  twenty 
'5 


l6  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

years  later  the  Didot  dynasty  knew  that  its  literary  authority 
had  vanished.  Lamartine,  Hugo,  Gautier,  Vigny,  Musset, 
luckier  than  Louis-Philippe,  governed.  They  had  not  imi- 
tated Delille  and  the  rest  that  the  public  liked;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  had  written  masterpieces  which  the  public  hates. 
Instead  of  making  money,  they  had  made  the  art  of  France 
the  most  recent  expression  of  the  beautiful.  And  the  Didots, 
undone  in  literature,  fell  with  all  the  weight  of  their  antique 
Philistinism  on  the  art  of  the  printer,  illustrator,  and  book- 
binder, on  the  art  of  forming  a  library.  They  fell  as  tyrants 
on  an  unguarded  citadel.  It  would  take  volumes  to  relate 
this  lamentable  history. 

They  printed  the  poets  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  who  were  not  poets.  They  spoiled  thus  all  the 
good  paper  that  there  was  in  Holland,  and  left  to  the  artists 
the  paper  of  the  greengrocers.  They  exalted,  in  reports  of 
public  exhibitions  where  they  were  judges  more  implacable 
than  JEacus  and  Rhadamanthus,  Simier  above  Thouvenin,  the 
pseudo-classics,  the  worn-out  ideas  of  book-making,  the  faded 
ideals  of  book-collecting.  In  their  autocracy  they  were  aided 
by  the  men  who  were  forming  libraries.  These  obeyed  because 
in  obeying  they  needed  not  to  think  or  work  or  be  artists. 
For  fifty  years  of  artistic  liberty  a  library  was  formed  with  less 
application  than  a  laborer  gives  to  the  breaking  of  stones  on 
the  highway.  There  was  a  Draconian  rule.  Anybody  who 
had  money  and  a  manual  obtained  missals,  incunabula,  books 
with  wood-engravings,  books  with  vignettes,  books  from  fa- 
mous libraries  ;  and  to  give  them  the  most  recent  expression 
of  the  beautiful  marked  them  with  an  insignificant  book-plate. 

Canevari,  Maioli,  Grolier,  De  Thou,  Hoym,  Spencer,  No- 
dier,   Didot,    Brunet,    Brinley,  collected  books   like   coins. 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  I7 

They  were  indifferent  to  the  latent  life  of  them.  As  they 
obtained  them  they  let  them  remain.  Not  a  book  of  their 
libraries  derived  an  advantage  from  having  been  in  their 
possession.  They  bound  them,  but  their  bindings  were  their 
impersonally  elegant  marks  of  possession,  uniform,  invariable, 
inexpressive  of  the  books  that  they  covered.  They  described 
them,  but  their  descriptions  fitted  editions.     They  did  not 

KNOW    THE     ART     OF    BOOKBINDING.      ThEY    WERE     NOT     LOVERS   OF 

books;  perhaps  they  were  lovers  of  bibliomania.  They  have 
in  the  art  of  forming  a  library  the  place  in  the  art  of  poetry 
occupied  by  Delille,  Parny,  Michaud,  Raynouard,  Luce  de 
Lancival,  Delavigne,  and  Ponsard,  that  abolished  pleiad. 
There  was  one  book-lover  who  understood  this  in  the  time 
of  their  exaltation  by  the  Didots.  He  divined  the  art  of 
forming  a  library  because  his  mind,  with  regard  to  book- 
collecting  as  practised  by  others,  was  blank  as  a  white  page. 
It  had  not  been  affected  by  false  ideas.  It  was  the  mind  of 
Charles  Asselineau,  the  mind  of  a  poet,  faithful  to  Ronsard's 
eloquent  admonition  in  the  "Abrege  de  I'Art  Poetique  Fran- 
fais,"  "You  must  have,  in  the  first  place,  conceptions  elevated, 
grand,  beautiful,  and  not  trailing  on  the  ground." 

Asselineau  was  a  Romanticist  partial  to  the  verge  of  injus- 
tice. The  literary  and  artistic  revolution  of  1 830,  a  Renais- 
sance not  less  beautiful  than  that  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
naturally  evoked  many  men  like  him.  They  were  fanatics  ; 
others,  in  their  view,  were  atheists.  Asselineau  was  deaf  and 
blind  to  a  humanity  antedating  1830  and  not  extinct  in  1840. 
He  knew  intimately  every  celebrated  Romanticist  of  that  great 
epoch.  He  admired  even  those  who  had  been  celebrated  for 
an  hour,  and  not  more  than  an  hour :  Louis  Bertrand,  Ernest 
Fouinet,  Felix  Arvers,  Regnier-Destourbet,  Eusebe  de  Salles, 


18  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

Napol  le  Pyreneen,  Emile  Cabanon,  Theodore  Guiard,  Philo- 
thee  O'Neddy,  Theophile  de  Ferrieres.  But  Victor  Hugo's 
"Legende  des  Siecles,"  published  many  years  after  1840, 
was  "  a  posthumous  work"  of  the  great  poet!  This  expla- 
nation of  Asselineau  in  defense  of  his  chronology  was  a  ver- 
tiginous trope,  but  not  more  surprising  than  the  one  in  the 
"Poesies  de  Joseph  Delorme"  of  Sainte-Beuve,  which  he  took 
literally  and  drew  with  pen  and  ink: 

Pour  trois  ans  seulement,  oh !  que  je  puisse  avoir 
Sur  ma  table  un  lait  pur,  dans  men  lit  un  ceil  noir. 

Aglaiis  Bouvenne  made  a  facsimile  of  the  drawing,  which 
was  a  precious  relic  of  the  Asselineau  library — a  library  of 
works  of  the  Romanticists,  "  laves,  encolles,"  filled  with 
scarce  vignettes,  portraits,  and  autographs,  bound  by  Cape, 
Bradel,  or  Lortic  ;  a  library  every  volume  of  which  was  unique 
in  a  novel  sense:  a  volume  of  the  printer  and  bookbinder 
made  a  volume  of  the  artistic  book-lover.  That  such  a  work 
was  possible  astounds ;  but  what  will  you  say  of  the  Titan 
who  demonstrates  that  it  may  be  surpassed  by  fidelity  to  the 
art  of  the  decade  ! 

For  the  art  of  the  decade  does  not  ask  of  one  to  make  a 
chronology  of  the  Romanticists  which  shall  begin  in  1830 
and  end  in  1840.  It  does  not  ask  of  one  to  collect  books  of 
the  Romanticists.  It  is  more  exacting.  It  requires  that  a 
collection  of  Romanticists,  or  of  Historical  Book-Covers,  or  of 
Elzevirs,  or  of  Vignettists  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  or  of 
Masterpieces  of  Literature,  shall  be  perfect  in  its  smallest 
details. 


LIBRARY   OF   THE   ROMANTICISTS. 

1  HE  work  of  the  Titan  is  in  a  room  small  enough  to  dance, 
with  its  three  cases  of  mahogany  and  large  desk,  the  grand 
galop  of  the  Bal  Musard  in  the  least  vast  of  the  rococo  library- 
rooms. 

The  shelves  admit  a  double  row  of  books,  but  they  are  not 
full;  and  the  desk  is  for  the  books  that  are  useful,  but  there 
is  nothing  useful.  Asselineau  is  incorrect,  Noilly  a  trifler, 
and  the  others  are  as  ignorant  of  the  bibliography  of  Roman- 
ticism in  France  as  we  are  of  the  language  of  birds  before  we 
have  read  the  divine  Aristophanes  or  the  tales  told  in  the  pic- 
tures of  Giacomelli. 

Giacomelli  is  the  artist  of  the  workman's  symbolical  book- 
plate. Clearly  the  sparrow,  gamin  of  the  boulevards,  perched 
above  the  open  book,  with  a  defiant,  mocking  air,  adds 
"  Surpasser "  to  the  legend  inscribed  on  the  page.  To 
"Aimer,  Admirer"  the  sparrow  adds  the  third  element  of 
the  art  of  forming  a  library.  To  loving  and  admiring  it  adds 
surpassing  that  involves  universal  knowledge.  It  means  that, 
to  form  a  library,  one  will  never  know  too  well  history, 
philosophy,  the  theologies,  esthetics,  the  fine  arts,  the  sump- 
tuary and  decorative  arts,  and  all  the  languages.  Logically, 
for  the  library  formed  is  a  poem  in  the  strict  Greek  sense,  a 
composition  the  expression  of  which  is  absolute,  perfect,  and 
definitive. 

Thus  is  the  library  of  the  Romanticists  of  France.  It  was 
formed  by  Mr.  C.  Jolly  ;  it  is  his  work  as  much  as  the  "  Le- 
gende  des  Sikles  "  is  Hugo's,  and  it  is  like  a  poem  because 
•9 


20  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

the  least  change  or  alteration  would  diminish  its  beauty  and 
exactitude.  It  is  the  only  library  of  the  Romanticists  ever 
formed,  and,  while  it  exists,  it  will  be  almost  as  difficult  to 
form  a  library  of  poetry  and  a  library  of  literature  as  for  a 
cable  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle. 

"Why  do  not  you  say  that  it  will  be  quite  as  difficult? 
If  it  contains  poems  of  Hugo  that  are  not  elsewhere,  the  library 
of  the  Romanticists  must  render  impossible  the  formation  of  a 
library  of  poetry !  "  the  Philistine  will  not  fail  to  remark. 
The  objection  is  absurd  and  frivolous  !  The  formation  of  a 
library  is  a  work  of  genius,  and  genius  always  finds  the  occa- 
sional causes  of  its  creations,  since  these  creations  must  hap- 
pen. The  same  workman  shapes  genius  and  chance,  and 
shapes  them  for  each  other. 

What  better  illustration  of  this  may  be  given  than  the  for- 
mation of  the  library  of  the  Romanticists?  Their  literature 
was  exactly  the  reverse  of  the  literature  of  to-day.  It  was 
independent.  The  most  laborious  writer  could  not  dispose 
of  more  than  two  novels  in  a  year,  and  he  sold  them  for  a 
few  hundred  francs ;  but  these  books  were  his  life,  his  im- 
agination of  a  poet,  all  his  conceptions  and  all  his  dreams. 
To-day  the  public  pays  and  consequently  commands.  The 
publisher  has  the  right  to  say:  "This  style  of  love,"  or 
"  this  style  of  assassination,"  "does  not  please  my  custom- 
ers." In  the  time  of  the  Romanticists  the  public  had  no 
voice  in  the  matter  because  it  bought  no  books.  There  was 
nothing  to  prevent  a  poet  from  writing  "  Notre  Dame  de 
Paris  "  or  "  Mademoiselle  de  Maupin  "  when  he  wished  and 
how  he  wished,  if  he  had  the  ability.  But  the  sale  of  his 
works  never  exceeded  six  hundred  copies.  When  there  were 
six  hundred  and  fifty  copies  of  a  work  by  Balzac  sold,  his 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  21 

friends  asked  anxiously  :  "  What  is  the  matter  ?  Has  he  made 
dishonest  concessions  ?  "  At  present,  when  three  months  after 
the  publication  of  the  book  the  new  novelist  has  not  sold  his 
twenty-thousandth  volume,  his  friends  are  alarmed,  and  they 
ask:  "Is  he  failing?"  For  his  masterpieces  Hugo  was 
insulted  like  a  criminal  by  people  who  supposed  that  they 
were  attacking  only  his  glory.  If  he  had  not  been  a  giant, 
he  would  have  died  of  hunger.  Of  his  unsold  books  of 
poems  in  extravagant  editions  of  three  hundred  copies,  the 
shopkeepers  made  wrapping-paper.  What,  pray,  were  the 
chances  of  obtaining  intact  volumes  of  the  Romanticists  ten 
or  twenty  years  ago? 

Conquet  made  the  chances  fainter.  That  intrepid  little 
man  could  not  but  make  his  way  in  the  world.  He  is  a 
famous  publisher;  but  when  he  was  called,  derisively, 
"I'homme  aux  couvertures,"  he  was  a  dealer  in  old  books  in 
a  shop,  large  as  one's  hand,  of  the  Boulevard  Bonne-Nou- 
velle.  He  said  that  a  book  of  the  Romanticists  was  imperfect 
if  it  lacked  the  paper  covers  wherein  it  originally  appeared. 
He  advertised  for  paper  covers  in  the  "Bibliographic  de  la 
France"  ;  he  searched  the  workshops  of  the  bookbinders,  the 
lumber-rooms  of  the  retired  greengrocers,  and  the  great  col- 
lections of  the  provincial  landlords.  His  rival,  Rouquette, — 
a  Gascon  and  a  roublard,  Rouquette  !  —  was  the  first  to  an- 
nounce a  book  of  the  Romanticists  for  sale,  with  the  original 
paper  covers.  It  was  a  work  of  Barthelemy,  and  it  is  recorded 
in  the  Rouquette  catalogue  of  December,  1876. 

All  the  books  of  the  Library  of  the  Romanticists  have  their 
original  paper  covers.  They  are  typical,  they  are  documentary, 
they  are  often  works  of  art.  They  make  an  accessory  bibli- 
ography of  books  which  have  not  appeared.     On  the  back 


22  FOUR    PRIVATE    LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

of  Petrus  Borel's  "  Rhapsodies,"  Paris,  1832,  is  this  list  of 
promised  publications : 

Pature  a  Liseurs,  Petrus  Borel. 

Appel  aux  Jeunes  Fran9ais  k  Cceur  de  Lion,  Petrus  Borel. 

Odelettes,  Gerard. 

Mosaiques,  Philadelphe  O'Neddy. 

Odes  Artistiques,  Th^ophile  Gautier. 

Mater  Dolorosa,  Augustus  MacKeat. 

Essai  sur  I'lncommodit^  des  Commodes,  Jules  Vabre. 

Not  one  of  these  books  ever  saw  the  light  of  day  ;  but  the 
last  of  the  list  is  famous,  and  has  famously  noted  its  author. 
Jules  Vabre  is  the  author  of  a  book  which  was  never  written. 
He  is  the  author  of  nothing  else. 


vm 


mosaIque,"  prosper  m^rimee. 

BINDING      IN      MOSAIC     BY     CUZIN. 


THE  WORK  IN  DETAIL.    . 

1  HE  books  of  the  library  of  the  Romanticists  are  all  first 
editions,  uncut,  with  the  original  paper  covers,  bound  by 
an  artist,  faultless,  explained  with  notes,  ornamented  with 
scarce  illustrations,  illuminated  with  autograph  letters  and 
verses  of  the  authors.  The  library  has  everything,  and  every- 
thing perfect:  the  pure  curiosities,  as  "Louisa,  ou  les  Dou- 
leurs  d'Une  Fille  de  Joie,"  1830,  by  the  Abbe  Tiberge  (Reg- 
nier-Destourbet);  the  "  Contes  de  Samuel  Bach,"  1836,  by 
Theophile  de  Ferriferes ;  and  * '  Un  Roman  pour  les  Cuisinieres," 
1834,  by  Emile  Cabanon;  the  collections  of  "  Contes  Bruns," 
1832,  and  "  Annales  Romantiques,"  1823-36,  and  the 
prospectus  wherein  Jules  Janin  designated  as  "  Quentin  du 
Roi "  (Regis)  the  celebrated  novel  of  Sir  Walter  Scott ;  the 
unsuspected  original  issues  of  works  of  Hugo,  Lamartine,  Mus- 
set,  Sainte-Beuve,  Quinet,  Gautier,  Vigny,  Barthelemy,  Mery, 
Dumas,  Janin,  Glatigny,  Banville,  Sand ;  and  of  all  the  illus- 
trations of  Deveria,  Johannot,  Daumier,  and  Celestin  Nan- 
teuil;  and  of  their  critics,  censors,  and  parodists. 

There  are  "  Feu  et  Flamme,"  1833,  by  Philothee — some- 
times Philadelphe — O'Neddy,  in  real  life  Theophile  Dondey, 
with  a  dedicatory  epistle  ;  "Les  Roueries  de  Trialph,"  1833, 
of  Lassailly,  with  marginal  notes  in  manuscript  of  Vigny  ; 
the  "Myosotis"  of  Hegesippe  Moreau,  with  this  manuscript 
note,  about  the  book,  by  Monselet:  "  Tudieu  !  quel  luxe  pour 
un  po^te  qui  couchait  sous  les  ponts  "  ;  "  L'ldole"  of  Albert 
Merat,  with  the  two  suppressed  sonnets,  "  Le  Sonnet  des 
Cuisses"  and  "  Le  Dernier  Sonnet,"  in  manuscript  of  the 
33 


24  FOUR   PRIVATE    LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

author;  the  "Vignes  Folles"  of  Glatigny,  with  this  quatrain 
in  manuscript  of  Glatigny  : 

Po6te  dont  le  feu  trop  loin  du  del  s'allume, 
A  men  ami  Hardy,  j  'ai  donn6  ce  volume, 
Lorsque  chez  I'Oddon,  le  public  s'embetait 
A  voir  la  Karoly  d^clamer  Belmontet. 


Poor  Glatigny,  who  was  a  comedian,  studied  the  art  of 
rhyming,  remembered  that  he  was  a  poet,  wrote  the  lan- 
guage that  Gautier  and  Banville  knew^  lived  on  rays  of  sun- 
light, returned  to  the  commonplace,  and  died  ! 

Lamartine  wrote  a  poem  to  an  unknown  admirer,  "A  Un 
Inconnu."  In  the  "  Recueillements  Poetiques,"  1839,  only 
the  second  stanza  was  published,  with  the  title,  "  A  Un 
Anonyme."  The  Library  of  the  Romanticists  has  the  poem 
in  the  handwriting  of  Lamartine.     This  is  the  first  stanza: 

II  est  doux  pour  celui  que  le  g^nie  inspire 
D'entendre  son  ^cho  vibrer  dans  plus  d'un  coeur, 
Des  amis  inconnus  s'attachent  k  sa  lyre, 
Et  quand  le  souffle  saint  de  son  front  se  retire. 
La  gloire  devient  son  bonheur. 

Sainte-Beuve  has  written,  "Lamartine  ignorant,  qui  ne 
sait  que  son  Sme."  Alas !  Lamartine  did  not  know  even 
that,  but  to  fall  in  ecstasy  before  concerts  of  angels  and  re- 
peat the  delicious  and  formidable  echo  of  them,  he  needed 
not  to  know  anything. 

In  "Antony,"  183 1,  are  these  verses  in  the  handwriting 
of  Alexandre  Dumas : 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES  OF  NEW-YORK  25 

Que  cherches-tu  sur  notre  terre  Strange, 
Esprit  du  ciel  perdu  dans  nos  chemins  ; 
Ne  crains-tu  pas  de  blesser  tes  pieds  d'ange 
Aux  durs  cailloux  de  nos  sentiers  hufnains  ; 
Ne  crains-tu  pas  qu'un  parfum  ne  d^voile 
Ton  origine  k  ceux  qui  te  verront, 
Ou  que  le  vent  qui  soul^ve  ton  voile 
Ne  fasse  luire  une  ^toile  k  ton  front  ? 

In  "  Emaux  et  Camees,"  1858,  is  this  line  in  the  hand- 
writing of  the  impeccable  poet  Theophile  Gautier,  whose 
country  was  that  of  the  Hellenes,  the  country  of  temples, 
white  statues,  and  forests  visited  by  gods,  and  who  liked  the 
clearness,  the  joy,  and  the  healthy  irony  of  France : 

Je  suis  satisfait  de  cet  exemplaire  et  je  le  signe  pour  en 
augmenter  I'^clat.    Theophile  Gautier. 

In  the  "Stalactites,"  1846,  of  Theodore  de  Banville,  who 
was  an  exile  from  Heaven,  and,  fearing  to  forget  its  language, 
learned  no  other,  are  these  verses  in  his  handwriting,  similar 
to  the  handwriting  which  one  attributes  to  the  fairy  Titania : 

Que  les  temps  sont  changes !  *  mon  cher  Asselineau; 
Pour  moi  1' enfant  Amour  allumait  son  fourneau, 
Lorsqu'en  des  lieux  charmants,  remplis  de  cl6matites, 
Je  rfivais  ce  recueil  nomm6  les  Stalactites, 
Tout  jeune  encore,  ainsi  que  Dam^e  ou  Tircis. 
H61as,  c'^tait  en  mil  huit  cent  quarante  six, 
Epoque  ou  j'^tais  cher  k  la  Gr^ce  ind^cente, 
Et  j'^cris  ces  vers  en  mil  huit  cent  soixante, 
N'ayant  presque  plus  d'or  et  d 'argent  sur  le  front, 
Vieux  lyrique  fourbu,  dont  les  jeunes  riront ! 
*  Racine,  "Athalie." 


36  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

In  Alphonse  Karr's  "Sous  les  Tilleuls,"  1832,  is  the  wide 
white  ribbon,  embroidered  in  blue  with  the  name  of  Alphonse 
Karr  on  one  side  and  Nice  on  the  other,  which  the  Olympian 
Jupiter  of  the  sages  sent  gracefully  with  every  bunch  of  roses 
of  his  garden.  There  are  the  inexcusable  ''Livre  d'Amour," 
1843,  which  Sainte-Beuve  supposed  he  had  completely  de- 
stroyed, but  nothing  is  ever  destroyed;  the  most  romantic 
love-story  of  the  century  in  "  Elle  et  Lui,"  "  Lui  et  Elle,"  and 
"  Lui,"  the  story  of  George  Sand  and  Alfred  de  Musset,  told  by 
George  Sand,  Paul  de  Musset,  and  Louise  Colet — Louise  Colet 
who  was  a  Nereid  of  Rubens,  and  to  whom  solid  Romantic  faith 
gave,  in  a  statue  named  "  Penserosa,"  the  figure  of  a  dreamy 
young  woman.  There  are  the  eight  octavo  volumes  of  Alfred 
de  Musset  —  "  que  personne  ne  posseda  etne  possedera  jamais," 
said  Asselineau — and  the  "  Nouvelles  "  of  Alfred  and  Paul  de 
Musset,  extended  by  the  insertion  of  a  "Nouvelle"  of  Alfred, 
"  Les  Freres  Van  Bruck,"  not  to  be  found  in  any  edition  of  his 
works,  but  specially  reprinted  for  this  volume  from  the  Consti- 
tutionnel;  "  L' Anglais  Mangeur  d'Opium,"  1828,  and  the  copy 
of  De  Quincey's  work,  the  identical  copy  which  Alfred  de  Mus- 
set used  for  his  work  of  adaptation,  and  not  translation,  as 
the  publisher  supposed;  the  fourteen  volumes  of  plays,  three 
volumes  of  which  are  for  "  Le  Chandelier,"  altered  for  the 
stage ;  and  an  infinity  of  original  notes  and  letters  of  the 
poet  to  his  brother  and  to  his  friend  Alfred  Tattet  about  his 
poems,  his  tales,  and  his  plays.  There  is  Musset  in  the  ex- 
quisite lithograph  made  by  Gavarni ;  Musset,  proud,  charm- 
ing, young,  and  handsome  as  he  appeared  at  an  evening 
reception  at  Nodier's,  when  he  read  the  "Contes  d'Espagne 
et  d'ltalie,"  1830,  and  instantly  was  famous;  Musset  in  the 
admirable  medallion  of  David,  and  in  several  sketches  of  artists 


POUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OP   NEW-YORK  27 

who  knew  and  appreciated  him  at  every  stage  of  his  career. 
In  the  "Histoire  du  Roi  de  BohSme  et  de  Ses  Sept  Cha- 
teaux," 1830,  of  Charles  Nodier,  is  the  lithograph  of  an  even- 
ing party  "k  I'Arsenal,"  in  the  apartment  of  the  Biblioth^que 
de  I'Arsenal,  wherein  Nodier  received  and  charmed  the  Paris 
that  charmed  the  world. 

There  is  all  Hugo. 

In  the  "  Recueil  de  I'Academie  desjeux  Floraux"  for  the 
years  1819,  1820,  and  1821  are  the  first  issues  of  the  "  Ode 
Sur  le  Retablissement  de  la  Statue  de  Henri  IV.,"  which 
obtained  the  Lily  of  Gold  premium;  "  Les  Vierges  de  Ver- 
dun," which  obtained  a  special  Amaranth  premium;  "Les 
Derniers  Bardes  "  ;  "  Moise  sur  le  Nil,"  which  obtained  a 
special  Amaranth  premium  and  the  title  of  Maitre  es  Jeux 
Floraux  for  its  author  ;  "  Le  Jeune  Banni,"  afterward  entitled 
"  Elegie  "  ;  "  Les  Deux  Ages";  and  "  Quiberon."  The 
Journal  de  la  Librairie  made,  September  25,  1819,  the  first 
public  announcement  of  a  work  by  Hugo.  The  work  was 
"  Les  Destins  de  la  Vendee,"  1819.  The  same  year  appeared, 
in  reply  to  criticisms,  "  Le  Telegraphe,"  a  satire,  and  the 
preface  by  Franfois  de  Neufch^teau  to  the  Didot  edition  of 
•'Gil  Bias" — Hugo  furnished  the  notes;  in  1820,  "Ode  Sur 
la  Mort  de  S.  A.  R.  Charles-Ferdinand  d'Artois,  Due  de 
Berry,  Prince  de  France,"  "  Ode  sur  la  Naissance  de  S.  A.  R. 
le  Due  de  Bordeaux,"  "Le  Genie,  Ode  k  M.  le  Vicomte  de 
Chateaubriand,"  and  the  last  of  the  publications  begun  in 
1819  with  Abel  Hugo  under  the  title  of  "Le  Conservateur 
Litteraire,"  forming  three  octavo  volumes.  In  1821  appeared 
"Ode  sur  le  Bapteme  de  S.  A.  R.  .  .  .  Due  de  Bordeaux"  ;  in 
1822,  "Buonaparte";  in  1823  and  1824,  a  sequel  to  the 
*' Conservateur  Litteraire,"  entitled  "La  Muse  Franfaise  " ;  in 


28  FOUR    PRIVATE    LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

1825,  "Le  Sacre  de  Charles  X.,"  octavo,  and  "  Le  Sacre  de 
Charles  X.,"  quarto,  ''Par  Ordre  du  Roi "  ;  in  1827,  "La 
Colonne  de  la  Place  Vendome,"  octavo,  and  the  same  duo- 
decimo. In  1830,  "  L'Aum6ne,"  from  the  cover  of  which 
one  learns  this  interesting  fact :  *'  Comite  de  Bienfaisance  de 
Canteleu.  .  .  .  Sevend  au  profit  des  pauvres.  Prix,  i  franc. 
A  Rouen,  Feyrier,  1830."  At  this  date  it  is  well  to  quote  the 
first  verses,  written  on  his  copy-book  as  a  school-boy,  by  the 
creator  of  French  lyrical  poetry,  in  18.15  —  ^^^^  '^j  fifteen 
years  before  "Hernani"  : 

Ami  lecteur,  en  lisant  cet  6crit, 
N'exerce  pas  sur  moi  ta  satirique  rage 
Et  que  la  faiblesse  de  I'^ge 
Excuse  celle  de  I'esprit ! 

In  the  above  list  were  not  given  the  issues  of  1822,  "  Odes 
et  Poesies  Diverses";  1823,  second  edition,  and  two  editions 
of  "Han  d'Islande"  in  four  volumes ;  1824,  "  Nouvelles 
Odes";  1826,  "  Odes  et  Ballades  ";  1826,  "  Bug-Jargal," 
two  editions ;  1827,  collective  edition  of  the  "Odes"  in  three 
volumes;  1828,  "Cromwell,"  and  first  octavo  edition  of 
"Odes  et  Ballades";  1829,  "  Les  Orientales,"  octavo,  and 
the  same  duodecimo,  "Les  Occidentals,"  and  "  Le  Dernier 
Jour  d'un  Condamne";  1830,  "  Hernani."  They  were  not 
given  in  the  list  because  they  were  ever  indispensable  to  a 
library  which  pretended  to  contain  Hugo.  The  list  is  of 
books  of  Hugo  unknown  or  indifferent  to  the  old-fashioned 
collections,  indispensable  to  a  library  formed  in  the  art  of  the 
decade.  There  are  first  editions  which  are  proofs  before 
letter,  artist's  proofs,  trial  proofs,  unfinished  proofs,  in  the 
libraries  of  the  decade  ! 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  29 

In  1832  Renduel  published  a  large  octavo  edition  of  the 
novels  of  Hugo  in  this  artificial  order:  Vol.  I.,  "  Le  Dernier 
Jour  d'un  Condamne";  Vol.  II.,  " Bug-Jargal " ;  Vols.  III., 
IV.,  and  v.,  "  Notre  Dame  de  Paris";  Vols.  VI.  and  VII., 
"  Han  d'Islande."  Celestin  Nanteuil  made  an  etching  for  each 
work,  but,  following  the  natural  chronological  order,  made 
of  the  etching  for  "  Han  d'Islande,"  the  first  novel,  a  portrait 
in  a  frame  of  vignettes  of  Victor  Hugo.  The  edition  was 
published  without  the  etchings;  the  etchings  were  never 
issued.  The  library  of  the  Romanticists  has  the  four  impres- 
sions taken  by  the  artist  of  his  work,  a  masterpiece  of  this 
century. 

In  "Notre  Dame  de  Paris,"  1831,  is  this  ex-dono: 

SB,    &(B,  JoUy-eBavoiUot 
yictot    dhugo, 

There  are  nominally  four  octavo  editions,  1831,  in  two 
volumes,  of  "Notre  Dame  de  Paris."  There  was  only  one 
impression,  divided  by  fictitious  designations  on  the  title- 
pages,  in  reality.  Conventionally,  the  first  edition  is  the  one 
not  designated.  The  second  edition  is  the  duodecimo  edition, 
in  four  volumes,  published  the  same  year.  This  is  made 
flagrant  by  the  Library  of  the  Romanticists;  the  facility  for 
comparison  lacking,  the  evidence  is  not  accessible  elsewhere. 
There  is  a  vignette  for  the  title-page  of  every  duodecimo  vol- 
ume ;  thus,  the  duodecimo  edition  has  two  vignettes  more 
than  the  octavo.  There  is  an  error  on  page  71  of  the  octavo, 
repeated  in  the  duodecimo ;  but  an  erratum  after  the  preface 
of  the  duodecimo  corrects  the  error  unnoticed  in  the  octavo. 
The  editions,  made  by  mere  designations  on  the  title-pages 


3©  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

of  one  impression  of  the  duodecimo  edition,  are  seven  in 
number  according  to  Asselineau,  and  three  in  number  ac- 
cording to  Parran.  They  are  neither  seven  in  number  nor 
three  in  number :  they  are  two.  The  first  duodecimo  edition 
was  numbered  fifth,  following  the  fictitious  fourth  of  the 
octavo ;  the  fictitious  second  duodecimo  edition  was  num- 
bered sixth;  the  other,  published  in  1832,  was  numbered 
seventh.  There  were  nominally  three  editions  of  the  duo- 
decimo, but  the  second  only — numbered  sixth  —  was  a  fic- 
titious designation.  The  edition  numbered  seventh  is  not  a 
fictitious  third  edition.  It  is  in  reality  a  second  duodecimo 
edition,  revised  and  corrected,  having  neither  erratum  nor 
error,  and  containing  306  and  314  pages  instead  of  322  and 
338,  as  in  the  first  and  fictitious  second  —  fictitious  fifth  and 
sixth  —  editions. 

In  the  first  edition  of  "Hernani,"  1830,  —  the  second  is 
not  fictitious,  but  a  revised  and  corrected  edition, —  is  this 
autograph  note  to  Dumas : 

Merci,  cher  Dumas,  de  votre  mot  doux  et  bon.  Le  jour  oii 
vous  applaudissiez  fraternellement  Hemani,  j'dcrivais  pour 
Maximilien.  Ce  qui  6tait  aussi  de  la  fraternity.  Homo  erat. 
Aimons-nous.  Cher  compagnon  de  luttes,  grand  et  glorieux 
combattant,  je  vous  serre  dans  mes  bras.     Victor  Hugo. 

In  "  L'Annee  Terrible,"  1872,  is  inserted  the  bard's  original 
proclamation  "  Aux  AUemands,"  which  was  posted  on  the 
walls  of  Paris  after  the  siege,  and  said:  "II  me  convient 
d'etre  avec  les  peuples  qui  meurent,  je  vous  plains  d'Stre 
avec  les  rois  qui  tuent." 

In  "L'Art  d'Etre  Grand-P^re,"  1877,  is  a  pen-and-ink 
drawing  of  Hugo  for  his  daughter,  L6opoldine,  labeled   in 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK  3I 

his  handwriting  :  "  Abbeville,  4  h.  du  soir.     Dessine  pour 

ma  Didine  oendant  au'on  attelait  la  voiture." 

dated 
iparte 
vhich 
"Las 
)nsto 
"^apo- 
same 


ma  Didine  oendant  au  on  attelait  la  vc 

^/y/  /• ,.    jy-  -^-z*^  /w^  ^-^***  J^illir* 

.       .        —I  iving 

Jf^4»M^       *«       fci%*€U^     C4^A*^^/h9»^      vient 

/«    /7^       ^^    •-.^       ^>,*^     ^^/     ™'"* 

'  :nons 

}ages 

)ooks 

-two 


o^..^^    <^ . 


ithat 
:d  in 
1853. 
It  est 
mpte 
c'est 
id  in 
:ed  a 
arded 
:  Im- 


30  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

of  one  impression  of  the  duodecimo  edition,  are  seven  in 

number  arrordintr  to  Assp.linp.an.   and    three    in    nnmhpr   ar- 

cordinj 
three  i 
was  ni 
octavo 
bered 
seventl 
decimo 
titious 
fictitioi 
edition 
error,  ; 
338,  as 
sixth  — 
In  t 
not  fie 
autogri 

Merc 
vous  a 
Maxim 
Aimonj 
combat 

In  " 
proclar 
walls  I 
d'etre 
avec  le 

In  ' 
drawin 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  3I 

his  handwriting  :  "  Abbeville,  4  h.  du  soir.  Dessine  pour 
ma  Didine  pendant  qu'on  attelait  la  voiture." 

In  "Napoleon  le  Petit,"  1852,  is  inserted  the  poster,  dated 
London^  May  30,  1848,  wherein  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
appealed  for  votes  at  the  head  of  a  list  of  candidates  which 
included  "Victor  Hugo,  Homme  de  Lettres."  In  "  Les 
Chitiments  "  is  the  poster  for  the  first  Republican  elections  to 
the  National  Assembly,  containing  the  names  of  Louis  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte  and  Victor  Hugo  as  candidates  on  the  same 
list. 

The  first  edition  of  the  "  Ch^timents  "  is  not  the  one  that 
the  booksellers  regard  as  the  first.  The  first  appeared  in 
Brussels,  a  i6mo  published  by  Henri  Samuel  et  Cie.,  in  1853. 
The  preface  begins  with  this  phrase :  "  Le  faux  serment  est 
un  crime,"  and  finishes  with  this  phrase:  "  Rien  ne  dompte 
la  conscience  de  I'homme,  car  la  conscience  de  I'homme  c'est 
la  pensee  de  Dieu."  Proper  nouns  were  suppressed,  and  in 
the  address  "  Au  Peuple"  fifty-six  dotted  lines  replaced  a 
text  too  bold  for  Belgian  diplomacy.  The  edition  regarded 
as  the  first  was  printed  in  Jersey  the  same  year,  at  the  Im- 
primerie  Universelle  of  Saint-Helier.  It  is  a  32mo,  having 
for  places  of  publication  "  Geneve  et  New-York,"  containing 
an  integral  text  and  the  same  preface  as  the  first  edition  with 
this  phrase  prefixed :  "  II  a  ete  public,  a  Bruxelles,  une 
edition  tronquee  de  ce  livre,  pr^^dee  des  lignes  que  voici," 
and  these  phrases  affixed :  "  Les  quelques  lignes  qu'on  vient 
de  lire,  preface  d'un  livre  mutile,  contenaient  I'engagement 
de  publier  le  livre  complet.  Get  engagement,  nous  le  tenons 
aujourd'hui."  A  counterfeit  of  this  edition  has  330  pages 
instead  of  392,  and  announces,  on  the  paper  cover,  books 
which  appeared  in  1861  to  1868.    There  were  twenty-two 


32  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

copies — sixteen  on  vellum  paper  of  Holland,  and  six  on  China 
paper  —  of  another  edition  published.  The  title-page  is: 
"Victor  Hugo.  ChStiments  [in  red  ink].  MDCCCLIII.  En 
France."  There  is  no  name  of  printer  or  publisher.  There 
are  two  poems  added,  "Le  Christ  au  Vatican"  and  "La 
Voix  de  Guernsey,"  the  former  preceded  by  this  announce- 
ment of  the  publisher  :  "  L'attribution  de  la  piece  '  Le  Christ 
au  Vatican '  au  citoyen  Victor  Hugo  nous  a  toujours  semblee  et 
nous  semble  encore,  aujourd'hui  fort  douteuse.  Cependant 
depuis  plusieurs  annees  cette  piece  circule  et  se  reimprime 
sous  le  nom  du  grand  poete  sans  protestation  de  sa  part,  k 
notre  connaissance  du  moins."  The  protest  came  in  the 
final  edition  of  the  "ChStiments,"  published  by  Hetzel  — 
the  edition,  not  dated,  where  appeared  for  the  first  time 
"  Au  Moment  de  Rentrer  en  France,"  dated  August  31,  1870. 
In  the  preface  the  publisher  condemns  the  counterfeiters  and 
the  publishers  of  "Le  Christ  au  Vatican  "  and  other  rhapso- 
dies unworthy  of  Hugo.  But  "  La  Voix  de  Guernsey"  is  un- 
deniably by  Hugo.  The  original  is  a  32mo  of  sixteen  pages, 
dated  Hauteville  House,  November,  1867,  printed  on  onion- 
skin paper  without  name  of  printer  or  publisher,  and  en- 
titled, "  La  Voix  de  Guernsey.  Victor  Hugo  k  Garibaldi." 
Hugo  addressed  it  to  his  friends  in  sealed  envelopes  like  a 
letter.  Every  copy  detected  in  the  French  post-office  was 
confiscated  and  destroyed.  An  edition  of  it  was  published  in 
Brussels  in  1867. 

In  a  great  number  of  autograph  letters  of  the  Library  of  the 
Romanticists  is  revealed  a  Hugo  simple,  kind,  unaffected  as 
a  king  or  a  backwoodsman.  There  is  all  Hugo  expressed: 
the  poet,  Hugo-Dante,  Hugo-Virgil,  young,  grave,  passionate 
lover  of  nature,  sad,  savage,  crowned  with  the  epic  laurel  of 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  33 

the  victorious ;  the  man,  calm  in  the  consciousness  of  duty 
done,  serene  in  the  consciousness  of  the  prodigious  realized, 
a  man  of  wit  superior  to  all  others.  There  are  defined  all 
the  Romanticists :  possessed  by  love  of  poetry,  adoration  for 
the  beautiful,  aspiration  toward  genius,  they  reconstructed 
France.  Their  works  wear  ermine,  purple,  and  laurel  in  an 
Olympus  of  books. 


ALFRED    DE    VIGNY. 

1  HEODORE  DE  Banville  Said  that  Vigny  wore  in  his  features, 
pure  as  those  of  a  Greek  of  the  time  of  Pericles,  the  distinc- 
tion which  every  poet  has  in  his  soul.  He  was  a  visible 
sign  of  the  nobility  of  poets.  He  had  been  an  officer  of  the 
royal  guard,  his  wife  was  the  daughter  of  a  king,  and  when 
he  threw  his  mantle  of  a  Count  on  the  emaciated  body  of 
Chatterton,  the  Philistines  could  not  find  in  him  the  slight- 
est pretext  for  their  irony.  The  artist  of  "Helena,"  1822 
"Eloa,"  1824;  "Cinq-Mars,"  1826;  "Chatterton"  and 
"Servitude  et  Grandeurs  Militaires,"  1835,  transfigured  Grin- 
goire,  Villon,  the  traditional  famished,  highway  poets,  into 
princes  in  the  train  of  kings.  Is  it  not  a  great  privilege  to  be 
enabled  to  publish  for  the  first  time  a  tale  that  he  has  com- 
posed ?  It  is,  in  the  form  of  a  letter  addressed  to  a  lady,  a 
document  of  the  library  of  the  Romanticists. 


CONTE  ARABE. 
Il  y  avait  une  fois,  dans  1' Orient  du  c6t6  de  la  Mecque,  un  palais 
de  marbre  rose  oil  personne  n'osait  p6n6trer  parcequ'il  6tait  ha- 
bits par  des  g^nies,  k  ce  que  disent  les  contes  arabes  que  j'ai  lus 
autrefois.  Toutes  les  nuits  on  voyait  des  lumi^res  ^blouissantes 
qui  illuminaient  tout  I'interieur  de  ce  grand  palais,  et  les  hautes 
colonnes,  les  trifles,  les  fenStres  longues,  les  spirales  transpa- 
rentes  des  escaliers,  les  cent  petits  d6mes  et  leurs  toits  k  clo- 
chettes,  et  les  pointes  des  petites  tourelles  de  porcelaine  se 
d^tachaient  en  noir  sur  la  lueur  6gale  qui  6clairait  le  palais  tout 
entier.  Cependant  on  n'y  voyait  jamais  I'ombre  de  personne. 
34 


FOUR   PRIVATE    LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  35 

Homme  ni  femme  n'y  paraissait,  et  les  lueurs  qui  s'allumaient 
tout  d'un  coup  an  coucher  du  soleil  s'^teignaient  toutes  ensemble 
k  son  lever. 

Quoique  toutes  les  portes  fussent  ouvertes,  il  ne  s'^tait  trouv6 
personne,  depuis  cent  ans,  qui  e(it  os^  les  passer,  lorsqu'un  fiddle 
croyant  qui  venait  de  faire  ses  devotions  k  la  Mecque  s'aventura 
jusqu'^  une  longue  avenue  de  palmiers  qui  le  conduisit  aux 
grandes  portes  de  c^dre  sculpts  du  palais  enchants.  II  portait 
en  bandouli^re  sa  petite  giberne  du  Coran  sur  laquelle  il  posa  sa 
main  gauche,  et,  tenant  son  chapelet  dans  les  doigts  de  sa  main 
droite  appuy^e  sur  la  garde  de  son  yatagan,  il  entra  d'un  pas 
paisible,  en  laissant  ses  babouches  rouges  sur  le  seuil  de  la  porte, 
par  respect  pour  les  g^nies,  et  ne  gardant  que  ses  chaussures  de 
maroquin  jaune,  il  marcha  avec  confiance  sur  les  tapis  tr^s  moel- 
leux,  dans  de  longues  galeries,  entre  deux  haies  de  paravents 
d'ivoire  transparent  dentel6  et  sculpts,  qui  reprdsentaient  les 
aventures  divines  de  Brahma,  et  les  transformations  de  tons  les 
g^nies  de  1' Orient. 

On  n'entendait  pas  le  moindre  bruit,  et  le  jeune  Musulman 
avait  d6jk  pass6  a  travers  quarante-neuf  grandes  salles  d^sertes, 
magnifiques,  et  illumin^es,  lorsqu'il  entendit  un  leger  soupir,  et  il 
vit  au  milieu  de  la  cinquantieme  salle  dor^e  un  trone  de  marbre 
noir  sur  lequel  etait  assise  une  jeune  femme  d'une  grande  beauts. 

Apr^s  s'^tre  agenouill^  devant  elle,  il  fut  tr^s  surpris  de  voir 
qu'elle  lui  tendait  la  main,  I'attirait  k  elle  et  lui  donnait  un  baiser 
sur  le  front.  "  C'^tait  vous  que  j'attendais  depuis  cent  ans,"  dit 
cette  jeune  femme, "  et  je  vous  dois  le  i^cit  de  ma  vie."  Elle  le  fit 
asseoir  aupr^s  d'elle,  et  apr^s  lui  avoir  racont6  avec  un  esprit  in- 
comparable de  grace  et  d'^clat,  pourquoi  les  g^nies  I'avaient  ainsi 
condamnee  k  demeurer  seule  durant  tant  d'ann^es,  elle  I'assura 
que  malgr6  la  magnificence  de  son  beau  palais  elle  commen9ait  a 
trouver  son  s^jour  un  peu  long,  et  ne  serait  point  fach^e  d'aller 
ailleurs. 


36  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

"  Eh  bien,  que  ne  venez-vous  done  avec  moi  ?  "  lui  dit  le  Ma- 
hometan, "  puisqu'il  etait  ecrit  sur  le  collier  d'or  invisible  que 
je  porte  au  col,  comme  tous  les  vrais  croyants,  que  je  devais  en- 
trer  ici  et  vous  faire  voir  celui  que  vous  attendiez,  il  doit  fitre 
6crit  aussi  que  je  vous  emm^nerai  vivre  et  mourir  avec  moi." 

"  Je  ne  demanderai  pas  mieux  que  de  partir  sur-le-champ  avec 
vous,"  dit-elle,  "  parceque  vous  m'avez  ecout^e  toute  la  nuit,  sans 
m'interrompre  et  sans  montrer  d'impatience,  et  parceque  j'ai  vu 
dans  vos  yeux  des  rayons  et  une  larme  .  .  .  mais  voici  quelque 
chose  qui  m'emp^che  de  partir." 

En  disant  cela  elle  ouvrit  sa  robe  de  gaze  brod6e  d'or  et  il  vit 
clairement  qu'elle  avait  les  deux  jambes  et  les  deux  pieds  changes 
en  marbre  blanc. 

J'ai  pens^  souvent  depuis  cinquante-neuf  jours  que  ce  serait  un 
grand  bonheur  pour  moi,  Madame,  que  d'aller  vous  revoir  et 
vous  remercier  de  la  bonne  gr&ce  que  vous  avez  mise  k  vous  in- 
former si  souvent  de  ma  blessure,  mais  j'ai  aussi  pensd  bien  sou- 
vent  que  j'avais  les  mSmes  raisons  d'immobilit^  que  cette  femme 
enchant^e,  et  j'^prouve,  comme  elle,  le  poids  d'un  pied  de  mar- 
bre que  Ton  ne  pent  mfime  pas  trainer  comme  un  boulet.  Je 
vous  prie  done,  Madame,  de  dire  un  peu  pour  moi  votre  chapelet, 
et  de  croire  qu'^  cette  condition  je  serai  bient6t  gu^ri,  et  en  6tat 
de  vous  aller  dire  combien  je  vous  suis  parfaitement  d^vou^. 


THE  ART 
OF  BOOKBINDING. 


1  HE  art  of  bookbinding  is  the  art  of  creating  in  the  reader, 
by  the  composition  of  the  covers  of  a  book,  the  state  of 
mind  desired  by  the  author  of  the  book. 

It  is  an  art  of  the  book-lover,  not  of  the  printer,  publisher, 
bookbinder,  or  author.  It  is  to  express  the  sentiment  of  the 
author  as  it  is  viewed  by  the  book-lover. 

There  are  two  categories  of  artists :  artists  who  in  their 
work  efface  themselves,  artists  who  in  their  work  tell  them- 
selves. There  are  book-lovers  flagrant  and  there  are  book- 
lovers  latent  in  the  books  of  libraries  formed  in  the  art  of  the 
decade. 

The  composition  of  the  covers  of  a  book  may  engage  the 
plastic  arts,  all  the  fine  arts,  all  the  arts  of  decoration.  It  had 
not  that  liberty  ten  years  ago.  Then,  a  Procrustean  rule,  resting 
on  nothing  and  having  for  its  object  nothing,  limited  to  lea- 
ther, to  MOROCCO  LEATHER,  to  LEVANT  MOROCCO  LEATHER, 
57 


38  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

and  to  tiny  tools  ofbrassthe  artistic  materials  of  the  bookbinder. 
Certainly  the  Italians  who  worked  for  Grolier,  the  Frenchmen 
who  worked  for  Diane  de  Poitiers,  the  Eves,  Le  Gascon,  Pade- 
loup,  Trautz,  and  Lortic,  with  these  materials  produced  works 
that  are  superb,  that  are  magnificent;  and  they  are  to  be 
precious  examples  of  handicraft  as  long  as  men  shall  retain 
the  divine  faculty  of  admiration.  But  these  works  are  exam- 
ples of  decoration  with  brass  tools  on  leather  ;  they  are  not 
examples  of  the  art  of  bookbinding.  They  are  separable 
from  the  books  which  they  cover.  Tear  them  from  missals 
and  fit  them  to  tales  or  to  blank  leaves,  and  they  will  have 
the  same  value.  They  are  as  inexpressive  as  tragedies  of  Luce 
de  Lancival,  and  for  the  same  reasons.  Luce  de  Lancival  knew 
a  hundred  words  and  a  thousand  rules ;  the  book-lovers  of 
the  day  before  yesterday  knew  one  book  and  formed  collec- 
tions of  ten  thousand  volumes.  In  1830,  in  the  time  of  the 
Romanticists,  when  Homer,  y^schylus,  Dante,  Shakespeare, 
Michael  Angelo,  and  Mozart  in  the  past,  and  Hugo  and  Dela- 
croix in  the  present,  were  revered  as  gods,  an  idea  of  the 
art  of  bookbinding  naturally  flashed  in  the  mind  of  Charles 
Nodier.  Nodier  gave  it  to  Thouvenin,  and  Thouvenin's  work 
shows  that  he  understood  it,  but  he  died  in  poverty  in  1834, 
the  only  bookbinder  with  an  idea  of  the  entire  Romanticist 
epoch.  Firmin  Didotwas  the  Aristarchus  of  the  bookbinding 
exhibitions.  At  the  Biblioth^que  Nationale,  in  Didot's  Re- 
port for  the  year  1844,  appears  the  nameof  a  bookbinder  who 
deserves  an  epic  poem.  He  had  the  heroism  to  exhibit  a 
volume  on  the  edges  of  which  an  artist  had  painted  a  picture, 
visible  when  the  edges  were  shown  slantwise.  He  appears, 
in  the  Report,  summoned  to  receive  a  reproof  in  comparison 
with  which  the  judgments  of  Torquemada  were  sonnets  of 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK  39 

praise.  Perhaps  he  died  of  it,  for  he  never  appeared  again. 
His  name  shall  be  written  here  in  large  letters,  as  a  mark  of 
appreciation,  for  the  book-lovers  of  the  decade:  BAILLY. 

The  book-lover  is  the  artist  in  bookbinding.  He  does 
not  read,  but  he  has  read,  his  books.  He  knows  them  per- 
fectly. The  covers  that  he  composes  for  them  shall  prove 
this  or  prove  that  he  is  not  a  book-lover.  I  implore  the 
reader  to  forget  any  different  notion  of  the  art  of  forming  a 
library  which  he  may  have  acquired  elsewhere.  The  man- 
uals are  made  for  public  libraries  or  for  booksellers,  and  the 
books  like  those  of  Dibdin,  written  for  book-collectors  of  an 
epoch  when  there  were  no  book-lovers,  are  not  now  authori- 
tative. Every  book  that  passes  into  the  library  of  a  book- 
LOVER  of  the  decade  GAINS  AN  AUREOLE.  It  was  one  of  a  great 
number  of  books  lauded  or  criticized  adversely ;  it  was  of  a 
limited  or  of  an  unlimited  edition ;  its  cost  was  nothing  or  a 
fortune ;  it  was  literature  or  pure  journalism  ;  its  author  was 
unknown  or  crowned  with  wreaths  of  laurel  —  it  is  the  book 
of  a  book-lover.  It  may  be  objected  that  this  discrimination 
has  been  made  in  favor  of  antedecade  books  of  book-collectors, 
ever  since  Brunet  paid  a  fabulous  price  for  the  "Telemaque" 
of  Longepierre;  that  at  a  recent  sale  the  "Libro  del  Corte- 
giano  del  Conte  Baldesar  Castiglione"  brought  §900  for  no 
other  reason  than  that  it]was  bound  for  Grolier;  and  that  "de 
provenance  illustre "  is  a  common  note  of  commendation  in 
the  French  catalogues.  The  objection  may  be  emphasized 
by  the  fact  that  the  Longepierre  "Telemaque"  is  of  the  year 
1717  edition,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  "Cortegiano"  was 
water-stained,  and  lacked  the  sixth  leaf  containing  the  Aldine 
anchor.  And  still  it  is  not  a  serious  objection  to  the  credit 
claimed  for  the  book-lover  of  the  decade.     Books  of  kings 


40  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

and  queens,  too,  are  valuable  for  their  covers  marked  v/ith 
arms  and  devices,  but  they  are  not  valued  as  books  of  book- 
lovers.  They  are  not  books,  but  examples  of  bookbinding 
made  by  artists  in  decoration,  not  in  bookbinding,  for  illus- 
trious personages.  The  "  Cortegiano"  of  Grolier  might  have 
lacked  a  dozen  leaves  without  detriment  to  its  value  as  a  relic 
of  the  patron  of  arts  from  whom  the  first  club  of  book-collec- 
tors ever  formed  in  America  takes  its  name.  But  a  line 
lacking  in  the  book  of  a  book-lover  of  the  decade  is  some- 
thing inconceivable — as  inconceivable  as  a  ''Cortegiano  " 
in  a  library  of  the  decade  bound  as  inexpressively  as  the 
"Cortegiano"  of  Grolier.  For  all  books  that  are  alive  are 
modern,  and  it  does  not  in  the  least  matter  if  we  lend  to 
ancient  authors  ideas  and  intentions  which  are  ideas  and  inten- 
tions of  to-day ;  it  does  not  in  the  least  matter  if  our  inter- 
pretation transcends  their  thoughts.  We  have  the  right,  and 
we  may  regard  that  right  as  a  duty,  to  prefer  a  cover  of  the 
decade  rather  than  a  cover  of  the  fifteenth  century  for  the 
"Virgil"  of  Spira,  even  if  that  cover  of  the  fifteenth  century 
was  inspired  by  a  psychologist  as  subtle  as  Stendhal  or  by 
an  antiquarian  who  was  also  a  psychologist.  There  is  nothing 
alive  not  modern — and  the  "Virgil"  of  Spira,  printed  in 
1470,  and  the  "  Cortegiano,"  printed  in  1528,  are  of  the  age 
of  Swinburne. 

The  qualities  of  the  expression  in  the  art  of  bookbinding 
are  musical.  The  art  is  to  create  impressions  and  evoke  im- 
ages, but  by  means  more  complicated  and  mysterious  than 
the  mere  representation  in  conventional  or  realistic  figures  of 
them.  It  is  not  by  the  color  of  the  leather  or  by  a  lyre  copied 
at  the  music-shop  that  a  book  of  poems  may  be  made  expres- 
sive in  its  covers.     It  is  not  by  copying  all  the  leaves  of  a 


FOUR   PRIVATE    LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK  41 

tree  that  the  idea  of  a  tree  may  be  communicated  to  anybody. 
The  covers  of  a  book  well  bound  are  decorated  in  conformity 
with  the  subject  of  the  book,  the  tone  adopted,  the  effect  de- 
sired, richly  or  gracefully,  gaily  or  with  tragic  severity.  For- 
merly a  book  was  well  bound  in  levant  morocco  with  a  Gro- 
lieresque  or  Le  Gasconesque  pattern.  It  was  as  if  an  edict 
decreed  that  a  woman  shall  be  well  dressed  in  blue  or  green 
velvet.  She  is  well  dressed  in  silk,  velvet,  damask,  stuffs 
with  pompadour  flowers,  or  lily-white  lawn,  according  to  the 
scene  wherein  she  appears,  drawing-room,  opera,  park,  or 
library-room.     Thus  is  a  book. 


HISTORICAL  BOOK-COVERS. 

When  books  were  dressed  in  uniformity,  like  soldiers,  they 
fell  in  files  according  to  height  against  the  walls  of  a  room, 
and  they  filled  the  space  between  the  floor  and  the  ceiling. 
In  the  library  formed  by  Mr.  Samuel  P.  Avery  there  are  rugs 
of  Asia,  paintings  of  masters,  bronzes  of  Barye,  vases  of  King- 
Te-Tchin,  faience  of  Deck,  and  books.  The  woodwork  is 
ebonized.  It  forms  an  arch  of  balusters  infinitely  graceful ; 
frames  a  fireplace ;  shapes  cabinets  for  prints,  books,  and 
bric-ti-brac,  and  above  them  panels  for  medallions  in  bronze, 
by  David  d' Angers,  of  Humboldt,  Delaroche,  Guizot,  Nodier, 
Johannot,  and  many  other  men  of  science,  letters,  and  art. 
On  the  cabinets  are  the  lions  and  tigers  of  Barye,  the  vases  in 
single  colors  of  all  shapes  and  eras ;  above  them  are  oil-paint- 
ings, water-colors,  sketches  in  sepia,  works  of  Madrazo,  Vi- 
bert,  Meissonier.  The  mantel  is  surmounted  by  a  mirror, 
formerly  in  the  house  of  Boughton,  framed  in  gold  and  panels 
representing^  in  the  tall,  lithe  women  that  Boughton  paints 
so  charmingly, Vanityand  Modesty.  In  the  fireplace  are  bronze 
andirons  made  on  models  of  Barye  ;  above  it  are  enamels  of 
Limoges,  painted  by  F.  de  Courcy,  vivid  portraits  of  Benjamin 
Franklin  and  Francis  Bacon.  The  ceiling,  painted  by  Galland, 
with  the  figure  of  the  genius  of  painting  and  her  accessories,  is 
as  if  an  archangel  had  violently  torn  a  panel  of  azure  and  re- 
vealed a  corner  of  Paradise.  There  is  a  glass-covered  cabinet 
filled  with  books  in  covers  of  iron,  silver,  gold,  velvet,  and 
ivory;  there  are  panels  of  Monticelli,  antique  stuffs,  etchings 
of  Lalannc,  Flameng,  and  Jacquemart,  tiny  essays  signed  De- 
4* 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   KEW-YORK  45 

taille.  Sifted  through  windows  of  stained  glass,  wherein  are 
traced  portraits  of  Holbein,  Correggio,  Dante,  Shakespeare, 
Botticelli,  Raphael,  Diirer,  Michael  Angelo,  their  Lauras  and 
Beatrices,  the  light  enchants. 

The  books  are  notes  in  the  gamut  of  plastic  and  decorative 
art.  There  are  the  book-covers  that  the  Orient  inspired  to 
the  Italians,  figured  like  the  tracings  of  a  Persian  manuscript, 
varnished  and  wearing  the  arms  of  a  doge  and  the  lion  of 
St.  Mark.  There  are  those  that  Maioli  liked :  in  brown  calf, 
inlaid  with  strips  of  various  colors  and  ornaments  shaped  like 
shells  at  the  center,  for  the  "Roland  Furieux,"  1552,  of  Ari- 
osto ;  in  red,  green,  and  brown  calf,  for  a  breviary ;  in  brown, 
white,  black,  and  olive,  for  a  book  of  poems ;  divided  into  four 
compartments  repeating  the  same  design  of  arabesques  in  dif- 
ferent colors,  yellow,  black,  and  green  on  backgrounds  of  gold 
and  silver  colors,  for  a  volume  of  1 575  — brilliant,  sumptuous, 
painted  once  and  painted  then  forever. 

There  are  on  a  "  Historia  di  Bolognia/'  1541,  and  plates 
of  du  Cerceau,  1550,  covers  of  brown  morocco,  in  the  center 
of  which  is  embossed  an  oval  medallion,  in  gold,  silver,  and 
colors,  representing  Apollo  in  his  sun-chariot  driving  over 
waves  toward  Pegasus.  The  legend  OPOiiS  KAI  MH  AOSISS 
surrounds  the  picture.  It  is  the  mark  of  Demetrio  Canevari, 
born  at  Genoa  in  1559,  deceased  in  Rome  in  1625,  chief  phy- 
sician of  Maffeo  Barberini  of  Florence,  who  became  Pope  Ur- 
ban Vlll.  in  1623.  Canevari  wrote  five  learned  books  about 
disease  and  medicine.  He  formed  a  collection  of  valuable 
books  so  vast,  covered  with  leather  and  an  ornament  so  costly, 
that  it  absorbed  his  great  gains  and  made  him  pass  for  a  miser. 

There  are  covers  of  white  kid^with  interlaced  initials  CH)> 
crescents,  quiver  and  arrows,  fleurs-de-lis  and  arabesques 


44  FOUR   PRIVATE    LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

inlayed  in  black  with  silver  outlines,  on  a  book  of  Charles 
Estienne,  "  La  Dissertation  des  Parties  du  Corps  Humain," 
1 546  :  a  book  of  Diane  de  Poitiers,  which  wears  on  its 
title-page  the  handwriting  of  the  great  advocate  Le  Camus, 
the  handwriting  of  the  Colbertine  librarian  Baluze,  and  on 
the  reverse  of  the  front  cover  the  initial  and  legend,  "  Inter 
folia  fructus,"  of  Colbert's  book-plate.  The  book  appeared 
as  No.  3382  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Colbert  library,  published 
in  three  lamo  volumes  in  1728,  with  this  laconic  indication: 
"  L'Anatomie  de  Charles  Estienne,  trad,  par  Estienne  de  la 
Rivifere.  Par.  Colinaeus,  1546."  The  auction-sale  catalogue  of 
the  books  gathered  by  Colbert  contained  18,219  titles  recom- 
mended to  the  illustrious  minister  of  Louis  XIV.  by  his  brother- 
in-law  Charron  de  Menars,  by  his  friends  Dupuy,  Bignon,  and 
Naude,  librarian  of  the  Mazarine  library.  The  Colbert  books 
were  bequeathedto  his  son  Marquis  de  Seignelay,  by  Seigne- 
lay  to  Archbishop  Colbert,  and  by  the  latter  to  Leonore  Col- 
bert, Countess  Seignelay,  for  whose  benefit  they  were  sold  by 
auction  in  May,  1728.  There  was  not  a  more  valuable  book 
among  them  than  this  book  of  Diane  de  Poitiers,  emble- 
matic of  her,  wearing  her  symbols,  the  initial  of  her  lover 
King  Henri  11.,  and  dressed  in  black  and  white,  as  she  was 
dressed  ever  after  the  death  of  her  husband.  It  is  not  valuable 
only  as  a  relic  of  her,  but  as  a  monument  of  the  Renaissance 
undeniably  French.  While  Catherine  of  Medici  employed 
foreign  artists,  and  at  Fontainebleau  French  and  Italians  quar- 
reled and  fought  like  heroes  of  the  Iliad,  at  Diane's  castle  of 
Anet  there  were  no  workmen  not  French,  and  the  men  who 
made  her  book-covers  were  artisans  as  able  as  if  not  abler  than 
those  of  Grolier.  The  designs  on  the  books  of  Diane  are  un- 
mistakably French. 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  45 

The  Grolier  design  is -an  imitation  of  the  Ma'ioli,  but  ren- 
dered in  gilt,  with  an  art  of  gilding  that  remains  until  the 
present  time  a  secret  of  France.  If  Grolier's  workmen  were 
Italians,  they  were  not  more  skilful  than  those  of  Diane  de 
Poitiers,  who  were  French.  If  the  men  who  gilded  Grolier's 
books  were  Italians,  they  never  practised  their  art  in  Italy. 
The  device  of  Maioli,  "Maioli  et  Amicorum,"  which  Grolier 
imitated,  was  a  favorite  device  of  Italian  artists  in  France  dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  Renaissance,  and  Jean  Cousin,  who  hated 
Italian  artists,  added  "et  amicorum"  to  his  Latinized  name. 
I  infer  that  the  device  of  Grolier,  as  the  device  of  Cousin,  was 
a  reply  of  French  artists  to  a  challenge  of  Italian  artists.  "lo. 
Grolierii  et  Amicorum"  surpassed  "Maioli  et  Amicorum" 
book-covers,  as  paintings  and  statues  of  Jean  Cousin  and  his 
friends  surpassed  paintings  and  statues  of  the  Italian  master 
and  his  friends.  This  interpretation  is  so  clear,  so  evident, 
that  it  has  no  chance  of  obtaining  the  favor  of  those  who  praise 
as  calisthenics  for  the  mind  the  art  of  disputing  about  noth- 
ing. They  will  continue  to  say,  with  Fertiault,  Le  Roux  de 
Lincy,  and  many  others,  that  "  lo.  Grolierii  et  Amicorum  " 
signified,  "This  book  is  for  John  Grolier  and  his  friends," 
without  an  afterthought.  They  will  continue  to  say  this  and 
to  ask  themselves  and  others  whether  or  not  the  device  was 
sincere,  for  a  book-collector  whose  books  belonged  also  to  his 
friends,  even  indirectly,  even  in  a  purely  sentimental,  ideal 
fashion,  could  not  be  a  book-collector  for  a  longer  time  than 
a  week.  Grolier  did  not  lend  his  books.  His  device  was  not 
inspired  by  the  book  ;  there  was  an  art  of  book-covers,  and 
the  device  meant  that  it  was  an  art  of  France.  There  are 
in  the  library  of  Mr.  Avery  the  covers  of  brown  calf,  orna- 
mented with  the  geometrical  design  formed  of  intersecting 


46  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

lines  of  gold  that  were  Grolier's  ideal  pattern,  made  for 
Alexander  Benedetti's  "Physici  Anatomice  Sive  Historia  Cor- 
poris Humani,"  1527,  No.  35  of  Le  Roux  de  Lincy's  list. 
The  "  Anthropologia  "  of  Galeazzo  di  Capella,  white,  in  covers 
ungilt,  unmarlced  with  the  Grolier  marks,  has  marginal  notes 
in  the  text  and  the  device,  at  the  end  of  the  last  leaf,  which 
appears  on  the  covers  of  the  Benedetti  book,  written  by  the 
hand  of  Grolier.  May  this  be  a  sign  that  I  am  mistaken  in 
my  interpretation  of  the  device,  and  was  it  a  device  ap- 
plied to  books  and  not  book-covers?  No;  for  the  covers 
of  the  "Anthropologia,"  white,  ungilt,  unmarked  with  the 
Grolier  marks,  are  Grolieresque  nevertheless.  They  are 
molded  on  the  book,  they  have  the  daintiness,  the  graceful- 
ness of  boards,  curved  and  converging  at  the  edges,  of  the 
book-covers  of  Grolier.  In  the  "Anthropologia"  Mr.  Avery 
has  a  book  with  trial  covers,  proofs  of  book-covers  of  Grolier. 
Underestimated  is  the  forwarding,  because  too  persistently 
praised  is  the  finishing,  of  a  Grolier  book.  The  forwarding 
is  perfectly  graceful,  and,  unlike  the  finishing,  it  is  inimitable. 
To  verify  this  assertion,  there  are  one  hundred  and  thirty  arti- 
sans of  book-covers  represented  in  the  library  of  Mr.  Avery. 

There  are  the  covers,  in  brown  morocco  ornamented  with 
a  Grolieresque  pattern  having  in  the  center  a  lion  passant 
holding  a  fleur-de-lis,  and  marked  with  Roman  initials  I.R., 
made  for  King  James  I.  John  Gibson  in  Edinburgh,  and  John 
Norton  and  Robert  Barker  in  London,  were  the  bookbinders 
of  James  I.  The  Grolieresque  pattern  came  into  fashion  in 
England  in  the  time  of  Edward  VI.  The  book  is  the  "  Geo- 
graphia"  of  Strabo,  1562- 1565,  and  was  No.  2270  of  the 
Beckford-Hamilton  Palace  auction-sale  catalogue.  It  is  a  pre- 
cious example  of  ancient  British  handicraft. 


BINDING    IN    CALF-SKIN,    MADE     FOR    GROLIER 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  47 

There  are  the  conventional  sixteenth-century  covers  of 
brown  morocco,  gilded  in  compartments,  made  for  the 
"Emblemata  et  Aliquot  Nummi  Antiqui  Operis,"  contain- 
ing plates  of  the  Sambucus  collection,  a  part  of  the  work 
which  is  dedicated  to  Grolier.  The  book  is  of  the  third,  1 569, 
edition  ;  wears  on  the  fly-leaf  the  arms  of  the  Chifflet  family, 
and  on  the  title-page  the  signature  "  Laurentii  Chiffletii, 
1 569,"  and  a  presentation  of  the  book  to  Claude  Menestrier, 
signed  Jean  Jacques  Chifflet.  Claude  Menestrier  was  an  anti- 
quarian and  numismatist,  the  author  of  a  history  of  Lyons, 
the  city  where  lived  Grolier.  Jean  Jacques  Chifflet  was  phy- 
sician to  Philip  IV.  of  Spain,  a  man  of  learning  famous  in 
all  Europe,  and  the  author  of  twenty-five  books,  one  of  which 
decides  the  place  of  Caesar's  first  landing  in  England.  Another 
demonstrated,  with  a  great  variety  of  documents,  that  the 
bee  was  the  emblem  of  the  first  dynasty  of  French  kings. 
The  bee  was  the  original  fleur-de-lis. 

There  are,  on  a  book  of  verses  of  Pindar,  1620,  the  covers 
of  red  morocco,  ornamented  with  fleurs-de-lis  and  initial  let- 
ter H  in  gilt,  made  for  Henri,  Prince  de  Conde.  A  little  book 
of  Herodianus,  in  mottled  calf,  with  the  signature,  on  a  leaf, 
of  J.  A.  De  Thou,  is  placed  in  a  box  made  of  covers  of  a  book 
of  De  Thou.  The  first  edition,  Aldus,  1 503,  of  the  tragedies 
of  Euripides  is  in  covers  of  olive  morocco  covered  with  gold 
tooling  in  the  style  of  Grolier,  has  the  mark  of  the  Lyons 
library,  and  comes  of  an  auction  sale  of  the  learned  Italian 
Libri,  who  pilfered  many  precious  manuscripts  from  French 
libraries.  A  "Discorso"  of  Sebastiano  Erizzo,  1559,  is  in 
covers  of  leather  chiseled  in  delicate,  ungilt  ornamentation, 
with  arms  of  Fenis  du  Tournoudel  in  the  center.  The  "Pi- 
thSnon  Diatribae  Duae"  of  Berterius,  1608,  is  in  covers  of  red 


48  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

morocco  ornamented  by  Clovis  Eve  vyrith  arabesques,  leaves, 
lines  straight  and  curved  forming  compartments,  and  in  the 
center  the  daisy,  emblem  of  Marguerite  de  Valois,  to  whom  the 
book  is  dedicated.  A  "  Historiale  Description  de  I'Afrique," 
1556,  is  in  covers  of  calf  with  the  complicated  interlacing 
of  gilt  lines  favored  by  the  bookbinders  of  Plantin. 

There  are  the  covers  of  claret-colored  velvet,  embroidered 
with  fleurs-de-lis,  initial  M  surmounted  by  a  crown  and 
coat  of  arms  of  Marie  de  Medicis,  on  the  "  Eupheme  des  Fran- 
jais,"  1615,  of  Jean  de  Loyac.  There  are  the  arms  of  Jean 
Jacques  Charron,  Marquis  de  Menars,  on  a  Book  of  Hours,  in 
vellum,  which  was  numbered  4  on  page  405  of  the  Menar- 
siana  auction-sale  catalogue.  The  sale  occurred  in  17 18.  It 
began  June  10;  it  finished  June  28.  Charron  saved  from  a 
public  sale  which  would  have  been  disastrous  the  printed 
books  of  the  library  of  De  Thou.  The  manuscripts  had  been 
purchased  for  the  Colbert  library;  they  are  now  in  the  Bib- 
liotheque  Nationale ;  but  the  printed  books  were  neglected. 
Charron  bought  them  as  they  were  on  their  way  to  a  hurried 
sale,  and  Santeuil  praised  his  action  in  a  Latin  poem  of 
two  hundred  verses.  The  printed  books  of  the  De  Thou  li- 
brary were  in  the  possession  of  Charron  until  1 706,  when 
they  were  overpraised  by  Germain  Brice.  Then  Charron  sold 
them  to  Cardinal  Armand  Gaston  de  Rohan-Soubise  for  40,000 
livres,  and  they  were  in  the  Rohan  Palace  until  the  Revo- 
lution. 

The  "  Calate  Fantastiche  che  Canta  Naspo  Bizaro,"  1565, 
is  in  covers  of  red  morocco  with  the  arms  of  the  Doge  Fos- 
canni,  once  librarian  of  Saint  Mark  and  compiler  of  the 
"Lettatura  Veneziana."  The  "  Austrasiae  Reges  et  Duces 
Epigrammati,  Per  Nicolaum  Clementem  Trelaum  Mozellanum 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES  OP  NEW-YORK  49 

Descripti,"  1591,  is  in  covers  of  calf  gilt  with  the  mark  of 
Charles  I.  when  Prince  of  Wales.  The  book  was  a  dupli- 
cate of  the  British  Museum,  sold  by  auction  in  1787,  a  dark 
epoch  when  historical  book-covers  had  not  the  value  that 
they  have  since  attained.  The  "  CEuvres  Diverses  "  of  Fon- 
tenelle,  1 728,  are  in  covers  of  red  morocco  with  the  arms  of 
Mme.  de  Pompadour,  by  Derome  or  Padeloup.  In  the  cata- 
logue of  her  library,  published  by  Herisson  in  1765,  this 
work  is  No.  2271.  Mme.  de  Pompadour  had  eight  thousand 
books,  only  two  of  which,  the  "  Roman  de  la  Rose"  and 
"  Le  Roy  Modus  et  la  Royne  Ratio,"  were  manuscripts.  Her 
books  were  classics,  and  prove  that  Latour,  the  great  pastelist, 
who  represented  her  at  a  table  loaded  with  works  of  the 
philosophers,  did  not  paint  for  her  grave  surroundings  that 
he  imagined. 

There  is  a  "  Nouveau  Testament,"  1672,  in  covers  of  gold, 
and  wood  delicately  carved,  of  the  Holy  Land,  for  the  Duch- 
esse  de  Longueville.  A  miniature  prayer-book  of  1673  is  in 
filigree  of  silver,  and  has  at  each  corner  a  heart  of  porcelain 
painted  with  the  figure  of  a  saint.  Psalms  of  1 637  are  in  covers 
of  needlework  embroidered  with  tulips.  A  Bible  of  1650  is 
in  wired  embroidery  of  a  vase  and  flowers,  with  ornaments  of 
silver,  by  the  nuns  of  Little  Gedding.  A  German  note-book 
is  in  boards  of  wood  covered  with  morocco,  embossed  with 
a  copperplate  of  Justice  in  the  center  of  one  cover  and  of  Love 
on  the  other.  A  communion-book  has  clasps  formed  of  cru- 
cifixes in  silver  gilt.  A  German  Bible  of  Leyden,  1 599,  is 
embroidered  with  a  figure  of  the  womkn  of  Samaria  on  one 
cover,  and  of  the  Virgin  and  Child  on  the  other.  A  holiday 
book,  "  Etrennes  Mignones,"  of  1780,  is  in  covers  of  needle- 
work, white,  with  colored  wreath,  crown,  leaves,  and  spangles. 

8 


50  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

"In  Funere  Carol.  III.  Hispaniar  Regis,"  Parma,  1789,  is  in 
velvet  covers  purple-colored,  ornamented  with  coat  of  arms, 
embroidered  in  silver  and  gilt,  and  bordered  with  medal- 
lions of  metal  representing  antique  subjects.  An  "  Almanac 
Genealogique,"  1785,  is  in  covers  of  white  silk,  embroidered 
with  crown,  drum,  trumpets,  flags,  a  soldier  with  a  halberd, 
and  the  initial  L  of  King  Louis  XVI. 

There  are  two  books  in  covers  of  scarlet  morocco  with  arms 
of  Marie  Leczinska,  queen  of  Louis  XV.  The  work  of  bind- 
ing is  by  Padeloup.  One  of  the  books  is  a  "Semaine  Sainte," 
prayers  for  Holy  Week;  the  other  is  a  "Repertoire  Drama- 
tique,"  1775,  a  catalogue  of  selected  plays  of  the  Comedie 
Franfaise.  The  latter  is  filled  with  notes  and  additions  in  the 
handwriting  of  Louis  XVI. :  the  little,  careful,  easily  legible 
calligraphy  of  a  personage  who  made  locks,  clocks,  furniture, 
notes  about  actors  and  their  parts,  with  the  irritating,  scrupu- 
lous accuracy  of  one  compelled ;  and  was  king  of  France,  per- 
haps because  the  wildest  fancy  of  a  poet  must  be  realized, 
and  Racine  invented  a  century  before  the  Revolution  this  sur- 
prising association  of  words:  "  Un  prince  deplorable."  The 
books  of  Marie  Leczinska  were  sold  by  auction  at  the  hall  of 
the  Archives  in  Paris  in  1849  I  the  "  Repertoire  Dramatique" 
was  bought  by  Jules  Janin,  and  was  No.  509  of  the  catalogue 
of  his  library. 

There  are  covers  of  olive  morocco,  paneled  with  gilt  lines, 
and  ornamented  at  the  corners  of  the  panel  with  flowers  and 
dots  gilt,  made  by  Roger  Payne  for  the  "  Matthaei  de  Cracovia 
Tractatus,"  printed  by  Gutenberg  in  1460,  in  the  type  of  the 
"  Catholicon."  There  are  covers  of  olive  morocco  made  by 
Mackenzie  for  the  "Series  of  Ancient  Baptismal  Fonts,"  1828, 
of  Francis  Simpson,  Jr.,  containing  the  India  proofs  and  etch- 


FOUR  PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  5I 

ings,  which  were  limited  to  twenty-five  copies,  and  the 
original  illustrations  of  Simpson.  The  book  comes  of  the 
Hamilton  Palace  library  auction  sale.  There  are  the  covers 
of  red  morocco  with  border  of  green,  the  green  above  the  red, 
made  for  "  The  Contrast :  a  Comedy  in  Five  Acts,  by  a  Citizen 
of  the  United  States,"  1790,  "the  first  play  represented  by 
a  regular  company  on  the  American  stage  written  by  an 
American  writer,"  to  wit,  Royal  Tyler.  It  was  the  book  of 
George  Washington,  and  has  his  familiar  autograph  on  the 
title-page. 

There  is,  in  covers  of  blue  morocco  with  blind  tooling  by 
Bedford,  Bishop  Thomas  Watson's  "  Holsome  and  Catholyke 
Doctryne,"  1558,  marked  with  the  signatures  of  William 
Stanley,  1673,  and  Robert  Southey,  Bristol,  1802.  William 
Stanley  was  Prebendary  of  St.  Paul's  in  1684,  Canon  Residen- 
tiary in  1689,  Archdeacon  of  London  in  1692,  and  Dean  of 
St.  Asaph  in  1706.  In  1802  Southey,  then  in  his  twenty- 
eighth  year,  was  the  celebrated  author  of  *' Joan  of  Arc,"  and  he 
was  ardently  cultivating  the  quality  which  made  of  him,  in 
the  view  of  Byron,  "the  only  existing  man  of  letters  in  Eng- 
land." He  was  collecting  facts  innumerable  about  orders  Cis- 
tercian, Franciscan,  and  Dominican.  The  book-stall  keepers  of 
London,  Paris,  Madrid,  and  Lisbon  knew  him  well.  He  praised 
Verbeyst  of  Brussels  :  "  Think  ill  of  our  fathers  which  are  in 
the  Row,  think  ill  of  Colburn,  think  ill  of  the  whole  race  of 
bibliopoles,  except  Verbeyst,  who  is  always  to  be  thought  of 
with  liking  and  respect."  When  Verbeyst  announced  the 
shipment  of  a  parcel  to  him,  "le  roi  n'etait  pas  son  cousin." 
"  By  this  day  month  they  will  probably  be  here;  then  shall 
I  be  happier  than  if  His  Majesty  King  George  IV.  were  to  give 
orders  that  I  should  be  clothed  in  purple  and  sleep  upon  gold, 


52  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

and  have  a  chain  upon  my  neck,  and  sit  next  him  because 
of  my  wisdom,  and  be  called  his  cousin."  When  he  had 
formed  his  Spanish  and  Portuguese  collections,  and  his 
daughters  had  clothed  in  colored  stuffs  his  pamphlets,  which 
filled  a  room  called  "The  Cottonian  Library,"  and  a  book- 
room  on  the  ground  floor  called  "  Paul  "was  furnished  with 
volumes  taken  from  an  organ-room  called  "Peter,"  neither 
^  the  offer  of  a  baronetcy  nor  £2000  a  year  for  a  daily  article 
in  the  "  Times  "  could  tempt  him  to  leave  Keswick. 
In  his  "Colloquies"  : 

"Why,  Montesinos,  with  these  books  and  the  delight  you 
take  in  their  constant  society,  what  have  you  to  covet  or  de- 
sire ? "  asks  Thomas  More. 

The  reply  is  old-fashioned:  "Nothing  .  .  .  except  more 
books." 

Montesinos  should  say  now,  "  Better  books."  This  "  Hol- 
some  and  Catholyke  Doctryne  "  has  a  long  note  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Southey. 

The  Marquis  de  Morante  collected  "  more  books,"  and — like 
the  learned  Rufus,  immortalized  by  PJliny  the  younger;  Ebert, 
-^  Director  of  the  Dresden  Library,  canonized  by  P^re  Jacob ; 

'^^^'^    and  the  Hellenist  Coray — fell  from  a  ladder  in  his  library- 
^-^  "Yoom  and  died.    There  are  no  shelves  so  elevated  as  to  re- 
■a^  ^- .     quire  a  ladder  in  the  private  libraries  of  the  decade. 
v^T  \„ju»>X    There  are  the  covers  of  calf,  with  arms  of  the  Marquis  de 
y-^  Morante  and  his  legend,  "J.  Gomez  de  la  Cortina  et  Amico- 
rum,"  made  by  Petit  for  a  "Hesiod,"  1550,  bought  by  the 
Marquis  at  the  auction  sale,  in  185^,  of  the  library  of  Gabriel 
Peignot.    In  the  Peignot  catalogue  the  book  is  No.  1259. 
There  is  the  "Entomology,"  1773,  of  Yeats,  with  marginal 
drawings  in  water-colors  of  every  insect  by  Lady  Aylesford. 


A' 


Photograph  of  front  cover  of  Gr  oiler  s  copy  of  Cardanus   De  Subtilitate. 
See  No.  230.     {Size  of  original  12;^  by  %  inches.) 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES  OF  NEW-YORK  53 

It  comes  from  the  Aylesford  auction  sale.  The  covers  are  in 
green  morocco  studded  with  small  stars  in  compartments,  and 
lined  with  silk. 

There  are — but  this  chapter  may  be  long  continued.  The 
collection  is  marvelous.  All  the  styles  of  decoration  of  book- 
covers  that  are  classified  as  Italian,  Mosaic,  Jansenist,  Ma'ioli, 
Grolier,  Eve,  Le  Gascon,  Derome,  and  Roger  Payne,  are  repre- 
sented in  it  by  perfect  original  examples.  It  contains  all  the 
art  of  bookbinding  that  the  classicists  knew.  Excepting  the 
covers  of  embroidered  silk,  which  the  classicists  did  not  re- 
gard as  examples  of  the  art  of  bookbinding,  what  book-covers 
of  the  entire  list  are  expressive  of  the  books  that  they  cover 
or  accord  with  the  definition  of  the  decade  ?  None.  They 
are  not  dress,  but  a  uniform  or  a  livery.  They  are  not  the 
art  of  bookbinding,  but  the  art  of  decorating  book-covers  of 
leather  with  marks  of  ownership  or  conventional  designs. 


Hi 


BOOKS   OF   TO-DAY. 

1  HERE  are  books  of  the  decade  that  are  famous.     Philippe 
Burty  invented  some  of  them. 

"L'Email  des  Peintres,"  1866,  of  Claudius  Popelin,  poet 
and  enameler,  is  dedicated  to  Burty, 

A  dom  Burty  ce  petit  livre 
Rappellera  mon  souvenir ; 
J'estime  que,  s'il  n'est  pas  ivre 
II  sera  tent6  de  I'ouvrir. 

It  is  bound  in  brown  morocco,  inlaid  with  an  enamel, 
painted  and  gilded  by  Popelin,  representing  a  genius  tread- 
ing on  a  serpent,  and  holding  a  ribbon  inscribed  with  the 
title  of  the  book.  The  enamel  is  signed  with  the  monogram 
C.  P.  and  dedicated  "A  mon  ami  Ph.  Burty."  The  original 
drawings  by  Popelin  for  the  enamel,  and  for  all  the  vignettes, 
which  Prunaire  engraved,  are  inserted  in  the  volume.  The 
bookbinder  is  Petit. 

"L'Art  de  I'Email,"  1868,  of  Claudius  Popelin,  is  bound  in 
orange  morocco,  inlaid  with  a  medallion  in  sgraffiti  of  gold 
by  Popelin,  signed,  and  with  garnet  morocco  at  the  corners. 
The  book  contains  an  original  drawing  by  Popelin  of  a  reaper 
blowing  a  trumpet,  with  the  legend:  "A  gens  de  village 
trompette  de  bois." 

"  De  la  Statue  et  de  la  Peinture,"  1869,  a  translation  by 
Claudius  Popelin  of  the  treatise  of  Alberti,  is  bound  in  red 
morocco,  inlaid  with  an  enamel  by  Popelin,  signed,  of  the 
figure  of  the  initial  letter  L  of  the  prologue,  representing  a 
man  on  horseback.  Burty  has  annotated  the  book.  At  the 
54 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES   OF  NEW-YORK  55 

place  where  Popelin  printed,  **cet  humble  travail  que  j'ai 
fait  aux  heures  deroWes  sur  mes  petites  affaires,"  Burty 
marked  an  asterisk  referring  to  this  note  in  pen  and  ink : 
"  He  wrote  this  book  during  the  hours  of  night  that  he  passed 
by  the  bedside  of  his  wife,  young  and  dying  of  a  cancer  in 
the  breast."  At  the  place  where  Popelin  printed,  "  Na- 
gu^res  comme  j'^tais  avec  plusieurs  hommes  de  bien  tant 
peintres  qu'ecrivains,  chez  une  noble  dame,"  Burty  wrote : 
"  H.  Taine,  Paul  de  Saint  Victor,  E.  et  J,  de  Goncourt,  Hous- 
saye,  Gautier,  at  the  house  of  Mme.  de  Paiva  in  the  Champs- 
Elysees  or  in  her  lands  of  Pontchartrain." 

*'  Cinq  Octaves  de  Sonnets,"  1875,  of  Claudius  Popelin,  is 
bound  in  green  morocco,  inlaid  with  an  enamel  of  Popelin, 
signed,  representing  a  reaper  blowing  a  trumpet,  and  a  ribbon 
inscribed:  "A  gens  de  village  trompette  de  bois."  The 
book  contams  an  engraving  by  Flameng  of  Popelin's  portrait 
in  profile;  an  ex-dono,  from  Popelin  to  Burty:  "Jam  ve- 
teris  amicitiae  pignus " ;  special  impressions  on  China  paper 
of  the  illustrations  and  autographs  of  the  sonnets,  printed  in 
the  book,  of  Jose  Maria  de  Heredia,  Francois  Copp^e,  Theo- 
dore de  Banville,  and  Anatole  France.  Also,  this  unpublished 
reply  of  Popelin  to  Heredia : 

Quand  I'oxyde  aura  mis  sur  les  plombs  du  ventail 
Sa  morsure  affam^e,  et  que  le  froid  des  givres 
Sous  sa  flore  enroul6e  aux  m^andres  des  guivres 
Aura  fait  ^clater  les  feuilles  du  vitrail, 

Quand  les  bl^s  jauniront  les  iles  de  corail, 
Quand  les  ^maux  fig^s  sur  le  galbe  des  cuivres 
Auront  €t6  brisks  par  des  lansquenets  ivres, 
Quand  la  lime  des  temps  aura  fait  son  travail. 


56  FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES  OF  NEW-YORK 

Les  beaux  sonnets  inscrits  sur  le  st^le  d'ivoire, 
De  I'oeuvre  ^vanoui  conserveront  la  gloire, 
Afin  de  la  narrer  aux  hommes  qui  vivront, 

Et  le  bon  ouvrier,  sur  le  marbre  des  tombes 
Gardera  verdoyants,  au  fond  des  catacombes, 
Les  lauriers  que  I'oubli  s^cherait  sur  son  front 

And  this   unpublished  variant  of   the  sonnet  of  Anatole 
France : 

Claudius,  tout  nous  trompe  et  tout  n'est  qu'apparence, 
Mais  la  parole  cr6e  aux  Ifevres  des  devins 
Un  monde  heureux,  peupl^  de  fantdmes  divins, 
Qui  font  aimer  la  vie  et  la  vieille  sou£france 

La  parole,  O  savant,  combla  ton  esp6rance 
Quand,  d'un  calme  d^sir  et  loin  des  troubles  vains, 
M^ditant  le  contour  et  I'essence,  tu  vins 
A  plier  au  sonnet  le  doux  parler  de  France. 

Tu  le  sais  bien  qu'il  n'est  qu'un  oeuvre  et  qu'un  tr^sor, 
Cher  disciple  d'Herm^s  k  la  baguette  d'or ; 
Ceux-I4  seals  ont  v^u  qui  surent  voir  les  choses. 

Retenons  la  beauts  qui  caresse  nos  yenx, 
L'irr6vocable  Nuit,  sur  nos  paupi^res  closes 
Est  pr^s  d'appesantir  son  doigt  silencieux. 

This  sonnet  of  Anatole  France  is  written  on  a  leaf,  ruled 
with  pale  lines,  torn  from  a  memorandum-book ;  the  sonnet 
of  Theodore  de  Banville  is  written  on  an  aristocratic,  lily- 
white  unruled  leaf  of  AngoulSme  paper.    Copp^e  and  Popelin 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  57 

wrote  on  linen  and  drawing  paper.  Jose  Maria  de  Heredia, 
in  his  large,  superb,  ancient  calligraphy,  on  the  fly-leaf, 
yellowed  at  the  edge,  of  some  antique  book. 

"Chefs  d'CEuvre  des  Arts  Industriels,"  of  Philippe  Burty, 
is  bound  in  La  Valliere  morocco  inlaid  with  an  enamel  by 
Popelin,  signed,  representing  a  vase,  a  chain,  leaves,  fruits, 
flowers, and  marked  "Arts  Industriels." 

"Les  Ex-Libris  Franfais,"  1875,  of  Poulet-Malassis,  is  bound 
in  green  morocco  inlaid  with  the  plate  of  iron  damascened, 
gilded,  of  Philippe  Burty's  ex-libris.  Inserted  in  the  book 
are  the  book-plates  of  Champfleury,  Asselineau,  Manet,  Mon- 
selet,  Fillon,  Hozier,  Queen  Victoria,  Sauvageot,  Gambetta, 
Galichon,  Paul  de  Saint  Victor,  and  several  autograph  letters 
relative  to  the  publication  of  the  book. 

In  the  "  Ch^timents,"  in  one  of  the  most  splendid  pages 
of  the  French  language,  the  poet  addressed  the  bees  em- 
broidered with  threads  of  gold  on  the  imperial  mantle: 

Chastes  buveuses  de  rosde, 
Qui,  pareilles  a  I'^pous^e, 
Visitez  le  lys  du  coteau, 
O  soeurs  des  corolles  vermeilles, 
Filles  de  la  lumi^re,  abeilles, 
Envolez-vous  de  ce  manteau ! 

When  the  Empress  Eugenie  quitted  the  Tuileries  and  the 
gates  of  the  garden  were  opened  before  the  Revolution, 
Philippe  Burty  marched  into  the  palace  and  aided,  with  a 
pocket-knife,  literal  obedience  to  Hugo's  figurative  invo- 
cation. The  "Chdtiments,"  1853,  is  bound  in  green  mo- 
rocco inlaid  with  one  of  the  imperial  bees  liberated  by  Burty. 


58  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

The  book  is  one  of  twenty-two  copies  on  China  paper,  and 
has  this  inscription  on  the  fly-leaf:  "Exilium  vita  est.  A  M. 
Ph.  Burty,  son  ami  Victor  Hugo,"  in  the  poet's  handwriting. 
Another  famous  booi<  of  the  decade  is  one  invented  by 
Poulet-Malassis.  It  is  the  immortal  work  of  Baudelaire,  the 
"Fleurs  du  Mai,"  wherein  love  and  suffering  exhale  their 
intoxicating  perfumes,  it  is  illuminated  with  original  draw- 
ings, etchings,  and  a  letter  of  Bracquemond,  and  a  note  by 
Champfleury.  There  are  an  etched  portrait  of  Baudelaire, 
five  essays  in  pencil  and  aqua  fortis  of  a  frontispiece,  thirty- 
three  typographical  ornaments,  wood-engravings  by  Sotain, 
and  Champfleury's  comment : 

By  these  frontispieces,  these  head-  and  tail-pieces,  one  may 
perhaps  obtain  a  clearer  idea  of  the  '  Fleurs  du  Mai '  than  by 
reading  them.  Ordered  and  engraved  under  the  direction  of  an 
editor,  friend  of  the  author,  who  had  entered  deeply  into  the 
workings  of  his  mind,  these  vignettes  were  never  published  for 
various  reasons.  .  .  . 

Bracquemond's  letter,  addressed  to  Champfleury,  says : 

T  have  just  finished  for  the  fifth  time  a  skeleton-tree.  But  it 
is  not  yet  the  thing  wanted.  Malassis  has  one  in  view,  and  as 
long  as  I  shall  not  have  found  it  he  will  make  me  do  the  work 
again.  He  said  you  had  the  book  which  contained  the  skeleton 
of  his  dreams.  I  cannot  recollect  the  name  of  the  draughts- 
man. .  .  . 

Bracquemond's  five  essays  of  a  frontispiece  were  rejected, 
but  his  typographical  ornaments,  headings  of  chapters,  initial 
ornate  letters  and  tail-pieces  were  as  Malassis  wished  them. 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK  59 

The  headings  have  the  initials  of  Baudelaire,  C.  B.,  and  his 
devices;  there  are  fleurons  formed  of  a  skull,  snakes  and 
wings  of  bats,  flaming  suns,  expressed  with  the  most  charm- 
ing delicacy  of  Bracquemond.  "  Le  Livre  Moderne,"  of  March, 
1 89 1,  contained  reproductions  of  a  heading,  a  letter  N,  and 
two  of  the  frontispieces. 

The  "Salon,"  1846,  of  Baudelaire — he  signed  his  name  in 
full,  then,  Baudelaire-Dufa^s — is  bound  in  La  Valliere  mo- 
rocco, with  the  initials  at  each  angle  of  a  triangle,  and  the 
device,  in  the  center,  of  Poulet-Malassis:  "Pauci  Boni  Nitidi." 
Poulet-Malassis  was  one  of  the  first  to  recognize  a  great  poet 
in  Baudelaire.  In  his  lifetime  they  were  only  poets — Sainte- 
Beuve,  Theophile  Gautier,  Theodore  de  Banville  —  and  book- 
lovers — Charles  Asselineau,  Poulet-Malassis — who  appreciated 
him.  The  sentiment  of  the  Greek  sculptor  about  the  shoe- 
maker and  his  last  never  had  greater  provocation  for  its 
expression.  The  work  of  the  artist  was  sincere,  superb,  ani- 
mated by  love  of  perfection,  ardently  disdainful  of  the  com- 
monplace ;  and  the  commonplace,  and  the  frivolous  triumphant 
in  Jules  Janin,  were  his  critics.  He  had  an  incalculable  treasure 
of  book-lore  in  a  mind  profound,  armed  with  locks  and  secrets  as 
are  minds  refined.  He  wasthe  son  of  a  noble  woman,  everywhere 
admired,  twice  married  and  twice  the  wife  of  an  ambassador. 
He  entered  life  by  the  most  dazzling  of  golden  gates,  wisely 
spent  three  fortunes  in  obtaining  from  it  real  and  not  hear- 
say impressions,  and  learned  to  envy  nothing  and  to  love 
the  ideal.  He  was  never  in  poverty,  he  had  no  bitterness 
of  heart,  his  most  intimate  friend  was  Theodore  de  Banville, 
and  Banville  guarded  jealously  his  invincible  attachment  for 
the  beautiful.  Yet  legends  have  made  Baudelaire  depraved ; 
the  unfortunates  who  never   understand   anything   having 


6o  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

taken  for  his  portrait  the  mirror,  framed  in  leaves,  flowers, 
and  learned  arabesques,  wherein  are  reflected  the  faces  of  the 
passers-by. 

About  the  woman  who  was  Baudelaire's  Laura,  Paul  Bour- 
get  has  written:  "The  visage,  shiny  as  ebony,  of  a  friend 
with  teeth  of  ivory,  with  kinky  hair,  inspired  that  litany  of 
tenderness.  .  .  ."  It  is  a  fair  example  of  the  legends 
about  Baudelaire.  Jeanne  was  a  colored  girl,  but  only  a 
Creole  might  have  discovered  this  by  the  telltale  line  marked 
on  the  nails  of  the  octoroons.  She  was  white — white  as 
Gladys  of  Paul  Bourget's  '<  Pastels." 

Mr.  Avery  has  these  books  of  Philippe  Burty,  these  books 
of  Poulet-Malassis,  and  many  books  of  his  invention.  "Em- 
broidery and  Lace,"  1888,  of  Ernest  Lefebure,  is  bound  in 
silk  embroidery  by  Miss  May  Morris,  daughter  of  the  poet 
William  Morris.  "La  Faience,"  1887,  of  Theodore  Deck,  is 
bound  in  brown  morocco  inlaid  with  faience  of  Deck.  On 
a  fly-leaf  Deck  has  written  : 

This  book  is  a  fruit  that  has  taken  forty  years  to  ripen.  Enjoy 
it  with  sentiment  and  reflection. 

"  Les  Emaux  Cloisonnes,"  1868,  of  Philippe  Burty,  is  bound  in 
brown  morocco  inlaid  with  ancient  Chinese  cloisonne  enamel. 
It  is  a  dedication  copy  from  Burty,  and  contains  an  original 
design  by  Regamey.  "Marvels  of  Glass-making  in  All  Ages," 
1870,  of  A.  Sauzy,  is  bound  in  dark-green  morocco  inlaid 
with  glass  panels  designed  in  colors,  enameled  by  Brocard. 
"Notes  sur  les  Cuirs  de  Cordoue,"  1878,  of  Davillier,  is  bound 
in  imitation  of  ancient  leather  of  Spain,  by  Quinet.  "  L'Email 
des  Peintres,"  1866,  of  Claudius  Popelin,  is  bound  in  black 
morocco  inlaid  with  an  enamel  by  Thesmar,  representing  the 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  6l 

genius  of  enamel  with  accessories,  in  the  style  of  Limoges. 
It  is  a  vellum  copy. 

"Jacques  le  Fataliste,"  1884,  of  Diderot,  is  bound  in  pur- 
ple morocco,  in  mosaic  of  gold  and  leather  of  various  colors, 
forming  scrolls,  garIands,Cupids,  graceful  as  the  style  of  Diderot, 
three  of  whom,  white  as  lilies,  pink  as  leaves  of  mother-of- 
pearl,  carry  a  ribbon  on  which  the  book-title  is  charmingly 
lettered.  The  bookbinder  is  Magnin  of  Lyons,  rewarded  with 
the  gold  medal  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1 889.  The  book, 
printed  for  the  Amis  des  Livres,  contains  two  aquarelles  of 
Maurice  Leloir. 

The  "Contes  Drolatiques,"  1855,  of  Balzac,  illustrated  by 
Dore,  contains  a  photograph  of  Dore,  under  which  the  artist 
has  written : 

On  parle  de  ma  facility  k  dessiner,  j'envierai  cependant  tou- 
joors  celle  du  soleil. 

As  Mr.  Avery  was  going  out  of  the  studio  he  heard  the  aflfec- 
tionate  question  of  Dora's  dear  old  mother  shouted  from  the 
top  of  the  stairs,  "  Gustave,  est-ce  que  tu  as  fait  des  affaires?" 
"Manuel  de  1' Amateur  de  Reliures,"  1887,  of  L^on  Gruel, 
is  bound  by  Leon  Gruel  in  maroon  morocco  decorated  in  com- 
partments of  gilt  lines.  The  "Art  of  Bookbinding,"  1880, 
of  Jos.  W.  Zaehnsdorf,  is  bound  by  Zaehnsdorf  in  brown 
morocco  decorated  with  a  Maioli  design,  and  inlaid  at  the  cen- 
ter of  the  cover  with  red  and  green  leather.  "La  Reliure 
Franfaise,"  1880,  of  Marius-Michel,  is  bound  in  brown  mo- 
rocco covered  with  a  design  of  the  Renaissance  ungilt.  "Mod- 
ern Bookbinding  Practically  Considered,"  1889,  of  William 
Matthews,  is  bound  in  citron  morocco  with  examples  of  vari- 
ous styles  of  ornamentation  in  compartments :    Grolier  and 


62  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

Eve  on  the  front  cover,  Le  Gascon  and  Roger  Payne  on  the 
reverse  cover,  surrounded  by  a  border  of  laurel.  The  book 
is  one  of  three  copies  printed  on  vellum  for  the  Grolier  Club. 
These  realizations  of  their  own  ideals  by  bookbinders  on 
their  own  manuals  are  instructive  and  edifying.  Compari- 
sons are  odious,  but  tant  pis!  If  Marius-Michel  had  the  grace 
of  Matthews  ;  if  Matthews  gilded  as  well  as  Marius-Michel,  or 
only  as  well  as  Leon  Gruel ;  if  Zaehnsdorf  had  the  feu  sacre 
of  either  Marius-Michel,  Matthews,  or  Gruel,  there  would  be 
four  perfect  books  of  the  decade,  for  these  express  perfectly 
their  classicism,  and  the  decade  acclaims  classicism  perfectly 
expressed.  I  have  turned  the  covers,  decorated  with  gilt  too 
pale  and  letters  too  ordinary,  of  the  book  of  Matthews,  and  it 
was  as  if  Faust,  suddenly  throwing  off  his  dark  mantle,  ap- 
peared in  dress  of  a  cavalier.  These  covers  are  lined  in  ap- 
ple-green morocco,  inlaid  with  crimson,  lemon,  and  orange, 
resplendent  in  a  graceful  and  seductive  design.  This  design 
is  neither  gilded  nor  lettered.  "  La  Reliure  Moderne,"  1887, 
of  Octave  Uzanne,  No.  i  of  the  Japan-paper  copies,  is  bound 
by  Ruban  in  citron  morocco  inlaid  with  designs  emblematic 
of  bookbinding :  a  book  of  the  decade  bound  by  an  ardent 
artisan  of  the  decade.  "  Histoire  des  Quatre  Fils  Aymon," 
1883,  is  bound  in  brown  morocco  inlaid  with  leather  incised 
and  painted  by  Meunier,  representing  the  four  heroes  on  horse- 
back with  their  lances  and  armor  in  silver.  "  Les  Orientales," 
1882,  illustrated  by  Gerome  and  Constant,  is  bound  by  Joly  in 
blue  morocco,  covered,  by  the  use  of  thirty-six  tools  made  ex- 
pressly, with  a  mosaic  of  red,  green,  black,  and  white,  form- 
ing the  roses,  arabesques,  and  festoons  of  the  Orientals.  The 
book  was  printed  for  the  Amis  des  Livres.  It  is  the  only 
quarto  book  of  the  society's  collection.      It  is  ornamented 


GROLIER     CLUB     PUBLICATION,     1889. 
BINDING     BY     THE      AUTHOR,    WILLIAM     MATTHEWS. 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  63 

on  a  fly-leaf  with  the  head  of  a  calif,  drawn  by  Benjamin 
G)nstant,  and  this  autograph  : 

Ce  Uvre  fut  men  premier  r6ve  d'Orient,  men  premier  voyage 
au  pays  des  Kalifes,  et  qnand  je  le  lus  pour  la  premiere  fois,  alors 
que  j'avais  15  ou  16  ans  .  .  .  je  me  sentis  orientaliste  pour  la 
vie !     Benjamin  Constant. 

Underneath  is  this  autograph : 

J'^cris  avec  grand  plaisir  mon  nom  k  la  premiere  page  de  ce 
livre,  un  des  plus  remarquables  du  grand  po^te,  ceuvre  faite  de 
soleil,  de  jeunesse  et  d'azur,  qui  nous  a  initios  au  monde  oriental 
jusqu'alors  convert  d'un  voile,  et  nous  en  a  montr6  toute  la  po^sie. 
J.  S.  G6rome. 

"  At  the  Sign  of  the  Lyre,"  1885,  has  original  illustrations 
in  water-colors  in  the  margins  by  A.  Brennan.  "  Songs  and 
Ballads,"  Book  Fellows*  Club,  1884,  by  Edmund  Clarence 
Stedman,  has  this  additional  stanza  to  "  The  Old  Picture- 
Dealer": 

And  yet  —  and  yet,  might  time  decree 
That  Avery  should  my  fame  restore, 
That  hovering  shade  would  smile  to  see 
His  Virgin  shrined  as  ne'er  before  ! 
Then,  for  one  votary  at  my  throne, 
The  world  should  worship  in  his  stead, 
And  with  its  profTered  gold  atone 
For  long  neglect  through  centuries  sped. 

This  additional  stanza  is  in  the  handwriting  and  with  the 
signature  of  Edmund  Clarence  Stedman, 


64  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK 

The  "Voyage  Sentimental,"  illustrated  by  Leloir,  has  its 
illustrations  washed  in  sepia  by  the  artist,  and  this  graceful 
autograph : 

En  souvenir  des  bonnes  relations  de  Monsieur  Avery  avec 
mon  fr^re  et  moi,  je  me  fais  un  plaisir  de  faire  pour  lui  de  cet 
ouvrage  un  exemplaire  unique,  en  rehaussant  au  lavis  toutes  les 
gravures  dans  le  texte.     Maurice  Leloir.     Paris,  1887. 

"Les  Chiens  et  les  Chats,"  1888,  of  G.  de  Cherville,  illus- 
trated by  Eugene  Lambert,  contains  original  drawings  of  a 
cat  in  a  cage,  and  one  on  a  great  folio,  by  the  artist,  original 
sketches,  pictures,  and  etchings,  not  used,  and  this  autograph : 

Tr^s  heureux,  Monsieur  Avery,  de  vous  dddier  ce  livre. 
L.  Eug.  Lambert. 

"Nos  Oiseaux,"  1886,  of  Andr6  Theuriet,  illustrated  by 
Giacomelli,  is  bound  in  blue  morocco  by  Ruban.  The  covers 
are  decorated  with  a  branch  of  lilacs,  birds,  and  butterflies  in 
mosaic  of  their  most  charming  colors.  The  linings  are  of 
dark-blue  morocco,  inlaid  with  a  garland  of  pinks  and  stems 
around  a  red  panel.  The  guards  are  of  blue  silk  embroidered. 
The  book  is  on  Japan  paper,  and  contains  an  aquarelle,  an 
exquisite  composition  of  Giacomelli,  wherein  a  medallion  of 
S.  P.  Avery  is  surrounded  by  birds,  leaves,  flowers,  and  books. 

The  "  Memoires  de  Grammont,"  1888,  contains  an  aqua- 
relle by  Charnay,  representing  a  woman  standing  before  the 
gate  of  his  garden,  and  this  autograph  : 

A  Monsieur  Avery,  hommage  bien  affectueux  et  souvenir  de 
la  derni^re  visit  de  son  cher  fils  Henry  k  mon  jardin  de  Marlotte, 
en  aoiit,  1889.    A.  Charnay. 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES  OF   NEW-YORK  65 

Also  an  aquarelle  by  the  illustrator  of  the  book,  with  this 
inscription : 

Souvenir  affectueax  de  I'auteur  des  dessins  k  Monsiear  Avery. 
C.  Delort. 

There  is  a  little  book  of  Ernest  d'Hervilly,  the  wittiest  of 
poets,  author  of  this  verse  that  Banville  applauded : 

Les  sergents  de  ville 
Qui  s'en  vont  deux  k  deux,  comme  Dante  et  Virgile. 

And  of  an  allusion  to  persons  whom  everything  astonishes, 
Ainsi  qu'un  d^phant  k  I'aspect  d'une  agrafe. 

It  is  "Le  Harem,"  1874,  for  which  Henry  Somm  had 
agreed  to  furnish  illustrations.  He  began,  and  for  reasons 
of  a  Bohemian,  prodigious  as  d'Hervilly's  wit,  he  never  fin- 
ished his  work.  The  book  contains  the  original  illustrations 
which  he  made,  and  his  excuses  and  explanations.  It  con- 
tains, also,  original  verses  of  d'Hervilly  dedicated  to  Mr. 
George  A.  Lucas,  friend  of  Mr.  Avery,  and  a  lover  of  art 
esteemed  by  all  the  artists  of  France. 

There  is  "  L'Epee  et  les  Femmes,"  1 88 1 ,  written  by  Edouard 
de  Beaumont,  illustrated  by  Meissonier,  a  large-paper  copy, 
containing  a  drawing  by  Beaumont  of  one  of  his  finest  swords, 
with  these  words: 

Juin,  1882.  Cher  Monsieur  Avery.  Avec  tous  mes  bons 
souvenirs  je  vous  adresse  le  portrait  de  Martine,  une  de  mes 
quarante  que  vous  ne  connaissez  pas. 

There  is  Irving's  "Knickerbocker's  History  of  New- York," 
1886,  Grolier  Club  edition,  bound  by  Zaehnsdorf  in  Dutch 


66  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

orange  morocco,  gilded  at  the  edges  over  water-colors  of  land- 
scapes of  New  Amsterdam  by  George  H.  Boughton.  The  vol- 
umes contain  original  drawings  by  Boughton,  and  poems  in 
the  handwriting  of  Robert  Browning,  Andrew  Lang,  William 
Black,  and  Austin  Dobson.     The  following  is  by  Dobson  : 

Shade  of  Herrick,  Muse  of  Locker, 
Help  me  sing  of  Knickerbocker! 
Boughton,  had  you  bid  me  chant 
Hymns  to  Peter  Stujrvesant ! 
Had  you  bid  me  sing  of  Wouter, 
He,  the  onion-head,  the  doubter ! 
But  to  rhyme  of  this  one, —  Mocker ! 
Who  shall  rhyme  to  Knickerbocker  ? 
Nay,  but  where  my  hand  must  fail, 
There  the  more  shall  yours  avail ; 
You  shall  take  your  brush  and  paint 
All  that  ring  of  figures  quaint  — 
All  those  Rip  Van  Winkle  jokers. 
All  those  solid-looking  smokers. 
Pulling  at  their  pipes  of  amber, 
In  the  dark-beamed  Council  Chamber. 

Only  art  like  yours  can  touch 
Shapes  so  dignified  .  .  .  and  Dutch ; 
Only  art  like  yours  can  show 
How  the  pine  logs  gleam  and  glow, 
Till  the  fire-light  laughs  and  passes 
'Twixt  the  tankards  and  the  glasses, 
Touching  with  responsive  graces 
All  those  grave  Batavian  faces  — 
Making  bland  and  beatific 
All  that  session  soporific. 


|rirjt 


SPECIALLY    DRAWN    BY    GEO.    H.    BOUGHTON    FOR    S.    P.    AVERY'S 

"Knickerbocker's  history  of  new-york." 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  67 

Then  I  come  and  write  beneath, 
Boughton,  he  deserves  the  wreath ; 
He  can  give  the  form  and  hue  — 
This  the  Muse  can  never  do ! 


The  following  is  by  William  Black : 

Dear  friend, 

Of  all  good  things  you  're  most  deserving. 

But  this  appeal  is  quite  un-Irving ; 

The  only  Knickerbockers  /  know 

Are  those  made  up  and  sold  by  Kino ; 

And  where  's  the  link  'twixt  New-York  history 

And  grouse  and  salmon ;  that 's  the  mystery ! 

I  give  it  up :  I  have  no  text ! 

I  cannot  preach  1  call  on  the  next ! 

The  following  is  by  Andrew  Lang : 

ALMA  QUIES. 

How  I  wish  upon  the  whole 

I  'd  been  fated 
To  have  lived  when  not  a  soul 

"Agitated"! 
That  my  birth  had  but  occurred 
In  a  Nation 
Where  they  did  not  know  the  word 
"  Demonstration  "  1 

Andrew  Lang  might  be  charmed  with  New-York.  Like 
it,  the  Avery  books  are  full  of  the  smiles  of  fairies.  In  letters 
that  have  the  tenuity  of  their  lips,  smaller  than  the  thinnest 


68  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

sparks  of  a  ruby  cut  by  a  lapidary,  they  are  the  miniature 
classics  of  Pickering,  fables  of  La  Fontaine,  tales  of  Florian, 
maxims  of  La  Rochefoucauld,  a  setting  of  humorous  poetry  in 
brilliant  types  by  Theodore  L.  De  Vinne,  made  expressly  for 
Viviane,  Morgana,  the  great  Melusine,  and  Queen  Titania. 
The  illustrious  fairies,  in  gowns  of  diamond  thread  and  sap- 
phire weaved,  read  them.  In  the  murmur  of  springs,  in  the 
shiver  of  leaves,  it  is  reminiscences  of  "  Horatii  Opera,"  1824, 
in  blue  morocco  inlaid  with  lyre  and  laurel,  that  one  hears. 
In  the  tempest,  stanzas  that  tear  the  skies  terrified  are  from 
'<  Poesies"  of  Victor  Hugo,  a  relic  of  the  National  Exhibition 
of  Brussels,  1880,  thus  indorsed,  in  Hugo's  handsomest  cal- 
ligraphy : 

Je  remercie  les  auteurs  de  ce  chef-d'oeuvre  typographique,  et 
je  les  prie  de  me  croire  leur  ami.     Victor  Hugo.     29  Juillet,  1880. 

There  are,  in  fairy  typography,  "  Verbum  Sempiternum," 
1695,  of  John  Taylor,  the  Water-Poet;  "Maximes,"  1827,  of 
La  Rochefoucauld,  the  font  for  which  was  made  by  Henri 
Didot  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years  ;  "  El  Libro  de  Misa  de  los 
Niiaos"  ;  the  "  Estelle"  of  Florian  ;  "  Le  Rime  di  Petrarca," 
1879;  almanacs,  calendars,  and  diaries  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, one  of  which,  in  Dutch,  contains  tales  of  Boccaccio,  and 
is  bound  in  two  sheets  of  mother-of-pearl;  "  Les  Bucoliques 
de  Cythere";  "  De  Imitatione  Christi,"  1858;  "Horace," 
1828;  "Vert-Vert"  and  other  poems,  1855,  bound  by  Canape- 
Belz,  with  the  parrot  inlaid  in  its  natural  colors ;  the  "  Finger 
New  Testament" ;  the  "  Fairy  Annual  "of  1838 ;  the  "  Quads," 
that  Tuer  called,  by  a  prodigious  abuse  of  authority,  "  Midget 
Folio  "  ;  "  Amour  et  Gloire,"  1827 ;  Schloss's  "  English  Bijou 
Almanac,"  1 841,  the  measurement  of  which  is  five  eighths  of 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  69 

an  inch  in  width  by  one  half  inch  in  length.  In  fairy  booics 
it  is  not  the  measurement  of  the  pages  that  counts,  for  De 
Vinne  observes  justly  :  "The  smallest  book  I  have  ever  seen 
is  about  one  half  inch  in  width  and  one  inch  in  length,  but 
its  type  was  of  the  size  nonpareil,  and  the  words  were  of  one 
syllable."  I  give  the  measurement  of  Schloss's  book  because 
it  is  the  smallest  of  the  fairy  books.  In  the  preface  to  the 
well-named  "  Brilliants,"  1888,  of  De  Vinne,  one  learns  that 
2304  types  of  "  n,"  or  3456  types  of  "  1 "  of  the  book  are  re- 
quired to  make  the  weight  of  one  pound.  Before  this  lesson 
of  the  decade,  book-collectors  made  no  discrimination,  in  clas- 
sifying fairy  books,  in  favor  of  books  printed.  With  them 
the  "  Paul  et  Virginia,"  a  photographic  reduction  published  by 
Flammarion,  might  have  passed  for  a  fairy  book,  as  passed 
a  book  engraved.  The  book-collectors  were  not  book-lovers. 
There  are  the  books  written,  engraved,  and  published  by 
W.  J.  Linton.  They  are  "  Bob-Thin ;  or,  The  Poorhouse  Fugi- 
tive," 1845,  which  has  on  a  fly-leaf,  in  the  handwriting  of 
Joseph  Mazzini,  this  inscription  : 

A  George  Sand;  en  t6moignage  d'admiration  pour  son  g^nie 
et  de  sympathie  pour  ses  croyances,  I'auteur  par  I'entremise  de 
votre  ami  d^vou^,  Joseph  Mazzini." 

And  this  explanation : 

Printed  by  me  at  85  Hatton  Gardens,  London.  Given  by 
me  to  my  friend  Mazzini  for  presentation  to  Madame  Sand. 
W.  J.  Linton. 

"The  Plaint  of  Freedom,"  1852 ;  "Claribel  and  Other  Poems," 
1865;  "Voices  of  the  Dead";  "Famine:  A  Masque  "  ;  "  Pot- 
Pourri";  "Ireland  for  the  Irish,"  1867  ;  "England  to  Amer- 
ica :  A  New-Year's  Greeting,"  1876  ;  "  The  Princes'  Noses:  A 


70  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

Modern  Idyl,"  A.  Tennyson ;  "  Cetewayo  and  Dean  Stanley  " ; 
"James  Watson  :  A  Memoir,"  1879  ;  "  Rare  Poems  of  the  Six- 
teenth and  Seventeenth  Centuries :  A  Supplement  to  the  An- 
thologies," 1882;  "Golden  Apples  of  Hesperus,"  1882,  with 
autograph  of  R.  H.  Stoddard,  to  whom  the  book  is  dedicated, 
and  autograph  and  several  original  drawings,  descriptive  of 
the  Appledore  press,  of  W.  J.  Linton ;  "  The  American  Odys- 
sey," 1876;  "Harry  Marten's  Dungeon  Thoughts";  "The 
House  that  Tweed  Built";  "Editorial  Right:  W.J.  Linton 
vs.  'The  Atlantic  Monthly,'"  1879;  "Slanderers,"  1879; 
"Wild  Flowers  for  Children,  by  Mr.  Honeysuckle";  "In 
Dispraise  of  Woman,"  a  verse  of  Catullus,  with  thirty-two  va- 
riations by  Linton,  1886,  in  light-brown  morocco  with  a  Gre- 
cian border  inclosing  the  verse  of  Catullus  in  gilt  letters,  by 
Maillard;  "Love-Lore,"  1887;  "Windfalls,"  1886;  Trans- 
lations," 1881  ;  "Poems  and  Translations,"  1889,  with  this 
original  poem,  in  the  handwriting  of  Linton,  addressed  to 
Avery : 

And  so,  my  friend  !  even  in  Love's  courts  you  ask 
A  place  for  Friendship.     Are  you  serious  then? 
And  think  your  poet  can  resume  his  pen 
And  use  its  gold  nib  on  a  lower  task  ? 

For  Love  is  above  Friendship.     Is  it  so  ? 
Methinks  there  is  a  scripture  with  the  words, 
"  Dearer  than  love  of  women,"  which  ailords 
Excuse  for  the  assurance  that  you  show. 

The  warrant  so  accepted,  let  there  be 
A  comer  and  a  welcome  for  the  guest ! 
So,  wishing  you  whatever  more  is  best, 
I  waft  you  this  admission  o'er  the  sea. 


FOUR  PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OP   NEW-YORK  7I 

There  is  one  of  the  three  copies,  written,  printed,  and  en- 
graved at  Appledore,  by  Linton,  in  1884,  of  "The  JVlasters 
of  Wood-Engraving."  It  is  the  original  edition,  with  original 
illustrations,  of  his  crowning  work. 

At  Appledore,  under  the  shadow  of  East  Rock,  near  New 
Haven,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  William  James  Linton, 
now  in  his  eightieth  year,  "  and  not  ashamed,"  as  he  writes 
in  an  ex-dono,  has  lived  in  his  elevated  ideal.  Engraver,  poet, 
political  writer;  in  his  youth  a  zealous  Chartist;  the  friend  of 
Mazzini ;  the  ardent,  enthusiastic  editor  of"  The  English  Re- 
public "  ;  the  poet  eulogized  by  Landor  ;  the  engraver  upon 
whom  has  fallen  the  mantle  of  Bewick, —  Linton  has  not  had  a 
thought,  he  has  not  done  an  act,  that  Art  would  wish  effaced. 
It  is  a  glory  of  our  country  that  it  has  Linton;  it  is  in  the 
Avery  library  only  that  one  may  find  the  books  of  Linton. 

There  is  an  album  filled  with  notes,  long  letters,  circulars, 
memoranda,  received  and  written  by  Meryon.  There  is  a  little 
pocket-album,  filled  with  drawings,  paintings,  autographs, 
lyrism,  of  the  greatest  contemporary  artists.  On  the  first 
page  Detaille  has  drawn  an  aquarelle  representing  himself  on 
horseback,  in  his  uniform  of  a  Garde  Mobile  during  the  war 
with  Germany.  At  every  page  is  an  interesting,  intimate 
note  like  this  from  artists  to  Mr.  Avery,  from  celebrated  men 
to  their  patron  and  friend. 

There  are  twelve  thousand  etchings,  engravings,  litho- 
graphs, photographs  of  paintings,  of  the  nineteenth  century; 
many  art-books  and  illustrated  catalogues ;  hundreds  of  au- 
tograph letters  and  original  sketches  by  artists  living  and 
dead;  two  hundred  historic  and  artistic  medals  in  gold,  silver, 
and  bronze;  etchings,  classified  alphabetically  in  portfolios, 
of  two  hundred  and  eighty-two  artists.     There  are  nine  hun- 


72 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 


dred  and  seventy  etchings  by  Bracquemond,  six  hundred  and 
forty  by  Flameng,  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  by  Geurard, 
five  hundred  and  ninety-seven  by  Jacque,  four  hundred  and 
twelve  by  Martial,  four  hundred  and  eight  by  Jacquemart,  two 
hundred  and  eighty-six  by  Lalanne,  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  by  Rajon,  two  hundred  and  fifty-three  by  Buhot,  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-nine  by  Courtry,  two  hundred  and  twenty-six 
by  Goeneutte,  two  hundred  and  twenty  by  Seymour  Haden, 
two  hundred  and  eight  by  Whistler,  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  by  Zilcken,  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  by  Daubigny, 
one  hundred  and  sixty-two  by  Unger,  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-three by  Meryon,  one  hundred  and  ten  by  Gravesende,  one 
hundred  and  one  by  Chauvel ;  collections  in  bound  volumes, 
as  the  publications  of  the  *'  English  Etching  Club"  —  a  tower 
of  masterpieces,  proofs  in  various  states,  signed,  retouched, 
marked  in  the  margins  by  the  artists  with  their  portraits  and 
affectionate  dedications.  I  have  enumerated  them  as  one  at- 
tempts to  enumerate  the  stars  and  constellations  in  a  rage  of 
realism. 


THE   ELZEVIRS. 


It  is  an  easy  ascent  from  indifference  to  an  artistic  piety 
intolerant  and  jealous  for  the  Elzevir  books.  The  indiffer- 
ence comes  of  their  popularity  as  books  traditionally  valuable, 
the  apparent  familiarity  with  them  in  persons  not  book-lov- 
ers, the  frequency  of  their  occurrence  in  lists  of  books  classi- 
cally scarce.  The  art  of  the  decade  inspires  a  horror  of  the 
conventional,  and  conventional  was  praise  of  them  until  they 
were  illuminated  by  the  triumphant  art  of  the  decade.  Con- 
ventional, mechanical,  as  if  made  to  order,  the  praise  of  Brunet 
and  Berard ;  financially  interested  the  praise  of  Motteley ;  un- 
intelligent the  praise  of  Brunet,  Berard,  Motteley,  Pieters,  be- 
cause it  made  valuable  as  many  false  as  authentic  books  of  the 
Elzevirs.  I  recollect  perfectly  that  I  wrote,  after  a  siege  of 
pseudo-Elzevirians :  "A  great  temptation  is  to  collect  the  El- 
zevir books,  upon  which  has  been  wasted  a  good  deal  of  sen- 
timentality. They  are  of  a  dainty  size ;  the  paper,  the  distinct 
black  type,  the  occasional  frontispiece,  are  seductive  in  the 
73 


74  FOUR  PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

extreme,  but  the  beauty  is  at  the  surface.  At  its  best,  the 
text  is  full  of  errors."  This  happened  many  years  ago,  and 
now,  instructed  by  Alphonse  Willems  and  initiated  into  mys- 
teries that  I  had  not  even  suspected,  I  amend  my  sentence,  as 
a  legislator  might  say,  by  inserting  the  word  "  false"  before 
the  word  "Elzevirs."  Thus  I  shall  not  be  troubled  with  a 
ghost  of  my  Record. 

The  founder  of  the  family  was  Louis  Elzevir.  He  was  born 
atLouvain,  about  1540.  He  was  a  bookbinder  at  Antwerp, 
and  occasionally  worked  at  his  trade  for  Plantin,  when  the 
Duke  of  Alba  came  to  cure  heresy  by  force  of  arms.  A  Prot- 
estant, he  went  into  exile  in  Holland.  In  1581  he  was  a 
bookbinder  of  Leyden  ;  two  years  later,  a  bookseller  indebted 
to  Plantin  of  Antwerp;  in  1617,  when  he  died,  a  great  mer- 
chant, admired  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  Europe.  In  16 17 
his  grandson  Isaac  had  been  for  a  year  the  owner  of  a  print- 
ing-press ;  his  sons  Louis  and  Gilles  at  The  Hague,  his  son 
Josse  at  Utrecht,  his  sons  Bonaventure  and  Matthew  at  Ley- 
den, had  aided  him  valiantly  and  were  established  in  reputa- 
tion as  booksellers. 

Isaac  was  the  son  of  Matthew.  In  1 62 1  his  elder  brother 
Abraham,  the  greatest  typographer  of  the  family,  and  his  un- 
cle Bonaventure,  were  associated  with  him  in  the  production 
of  books.  He  retired  in  1625.  The  printing-house  of  Ley- 
den recruited  in  1652  Daniel,  son  of  Elizabeth,  who  stayed 
three  years  and  then  became  an  associate  of  his  cousin  Louis, 
son  of  Gilles,  owner  since  1638  of  a  book-shop  and  printing- 
house  at  Amsterdam.  The  son  of  Abraham,  John,  continued 
the  work  of  the  printing-house  at  Leyden  until  1661;  the 
Amsterdam  house  lasted  until  1680.  The  Leyden  house  was 
managed  by  the  wife  of  John  until  1681,  when  his  son  Abra- 


FOUR  PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   KEW-YORK  75 

ham  assumed  charge  of  it  and  let  it  fall  into  ruins.  There  is 
not  in  the  chronicles  of  kingdoms  a  more  edifying  record. 

Louis  Elzevir  is  a  perfect  representative  of  the  men  who 
founded  a  transoceanic  Novum  Belgium,  He  was  sincere, 
laborious,  enterprising  although  not  adventurous,  and  prac- 
tical to  the  full  extent  of  the  immense  horizons  that  the  word 
practical  may  evoke.  He  gave  nothing  to  the  gods  of  Hellas, 
and  expected  nothing  from  them  ;  he  had  faith  in  his  work, 
and  if  the  University  had  not  aided  him,  after  fourteen  years 
of  tribulations  at  Leyden,  he  would  not  have  become,  as  he 
then  became,  in  1594  only,  a  citizen,  a  "  poorter"  of  Leyden. 
Perhaps  the  description  printed  at  Amsterdam,  in  1655,  of 
the  native  inhabitants  of  New  Netherland,  written  by  Van  der 
Donck,  owner  of  an  estate  on  the  Hudson  near  Yonkers, 
would  have  been  printed  at  the  Elzevir  Press  in  New  Am- 
sterdam !  The  Elzevir  Press  was  an  irresistible  evolution,  and 
not  in  the  least  dependent  on  its  surroundings.  The  printers 
of  Holland  addressed  Holland ;  the  Elzevirs  communicated 
with  the  world.  The  Elzevir  Press  would  have  been  created 
in  New  Amsterdam,  where  there  were  only  tradespeople,  as 
well  as  at  Leyden,  where  there  were  men  of  learning  and  a 
university.     ' 

Christopher  Van  Dyck  invented  and  engraved  the  Elzevir 
types.  He  was  utterly  unknown  before  the  art  of  the  decade, 
represented  by  Alphonse  Willems,  unearthed  at  the  Plantin- 
Moretus  Museum  of  Antwerp  his  titles  to  fame,  gravely  ac- 
corded by  Didot  in  his  stead  to  Garamond  and  to  Sanlecque. 
These  titles  are  in  the  form  of  a  letter  from  the  widow  of 
Daniel  Elzevir  to  the  widow  of  Moretus,  dated  January  3, 
1681,  accompanied  by  a  catalogue  of  the  Elzevir  types  with 
the  name  of  their  inventor,  the  letter  praising  the  inventor. 


"jS  FOUR    PRIVATE    LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

The  occasion  for  it  was  the  sale  by  auction,  March  5,  1681, 
of  all  the  tools  and  types  of  the  Elzevirs.  Less  than  a  hun- 
dred years  later,  the  work  of  Van  Dyck  was  extinct,  destroyed 
or  refounded  into  other  types,  but  the  books  that  had  been 
printed  with  them  are  indestructible.  Menage  appreciated 
this  in  1663,  when  Daniel  Elzevir  published  an  edition  of 
his  poems,  "  y^gidii  Menagii  Poemata,"  for  he  added  to  the 
collection  a  poem  in  Latin  to  the  publisher : 

Gods  and  Goddesses,  what  do  I  see  !  My  verses  reproduced 
in  Elzevirian  type !  O  types  elegant  and  exquisite  !  O  graceful 
and  charming  volume !  The  tiny  letters  rival  pitch  in  blackness, 
the  paper  is  equally  white  as  snow.  .  .  .  Thus  decked  the  volume 
attracts  and  holds,  whether  he  wishes  or  not,  the  reader !  The 
types  lend  to  my  verses  charms  that  they  had  not.  They  are  as 
a  bride  to  whom  a  skilful  hairdresser  gives  charms  that  Fate  had 
denied  to  her.  But  you,  Elzevir,  my  sweet  glory,  you  the  father 
of  these  most  elegant  types,  what  may  I  offer  to  you  in  return  for 
such  a  gift  ?  May  the  book-lovers  ever  prefer  your  works ! 
May  buyers  fill  your  shop  ^  May  the  name  of  Elzevir,  trans- 
mitted from  age  to  age  by  the  voice  of  poets,  fill  earth  and  heaven ! 
May  you  surpass  Turnebas  and  Vascosan,  vanquish  Stephanus 
and  Manutius ! 

I  like  Menage  because  he  was  pedantic ;  because  there  are 
forty  pieces  dedicated  to  Mme.  de  La  Fayette,  and  only  five 
dedicated  to  Mme.  de  Sevign6,  in  his  M Poemata";  because 
Tallemant  des  R^aux  was  jealous  of  him  ;  and  because  he 
praised  Elzevir.  I  like  to  think  of  Heinsius  and  his  letter  to 
Th6venot  about  the  "  Virgil  "  of  1676  : 

My  edition  is  depreciated  in  the  view  of  many  persons  who  do 
not  admit  the  propriety  of  inclosing  the  prince  of  poets  in  a  frame 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  77 

SO  small.  I  have  had  to  submit  against  my  will  to  the  exigencies 
of  the  typographer.  You  will  recognize  in  this,  with  your  habit- 
ual equity,  the  inveterate  malady  of  our  booksellers,  who  are  after 
nothing  but  money,  and  have  no  regard  for  the  dignity  of  letters. 

Is  it  not  amusing  ?  Who  would  know  Heinsius  if  it  were 
not  for  the  Elzevir  "Virgil"  that  he  disdains  so  superbly? 
Assuredly,  only  the  gravest  men  of  erudition.  But  the 
"Virgil"  of  1676  is  a  book  of  to-day.  The  text  of  it  is  a 
model ;  the  only  serious  errors  noted  by  J.  Chenu  are  tigri  for 
Tigri,  p.  282,  v.  166  ;  omibus  for  omnibus,  p.  296,  v.  691  ; 
fotunam  iox  fortunam,  p.  352,  v.  920.  The  only  errors  noted 
by  Willems  are  e-equidem  in  the  9th  line  of  the  preliminary 
notice  in  the  first  impression ;  a  period  after  Fudit  equum  in 
Georg.  lib.  i,  v.  13;  tela  for  tecta  in  y^n.  iv,  v.  260.  The 
work  has  an  interesting  history.  It  was  in  the  press  while 
France  and  the  United  Provinces  were  at  war.  Heinsius  dedi- 
cated it  to  Louis  XIV.,  but  the  impropriety  of  making  the 
dedication  public  delayed  for  three  years,  until  peace  was 
achieved,  the  appearance  of  forty-eight  copies  printed  on  large 
paper.  In  September,  1676,  appeared  the  duodecimo  "Vir- 
gil," measuring  about  148  millimeters,  containing  24  pre- 
liminary leaves,  including  the  engraved  title  ;  387  pages ;  29 
pages,  not  numbered,  for  table  of  contents ;  a  blank  leaf  and 
a  map  of  i^neas's  navigation.  In  1679,  but  with  date  of  1676 
unaltered,  appeared  copies  of  the  duodecimo  "  Virgil,"  mea- 
suring about  184  millimeters,  and  copies  of  the  ordinary  height, 
which  were  copies  unsold  since  1676,  containing  two  addi- 
tional leaves,  inserted  after  the  title-page  and  before  the  pre- 
liminary notice.  These  additional  leaves  contained  the  epistle 
to  Louis  XIV.      Heinsius  presented  one  of  the  large-paper 


78  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

copies  to  the  King,  and  another  to  the  Dauphin,  bound  in 
levant  morocco  with  an  elaborate  tooling  of  dotted  lines  with 
lace  border,  four  crowns,  and  twelve  fleurs-de-lis,  all  gilt,  by 
Magnus,  a  bookbinder  of  Amsterdam. 

In  the  library  of  Mr.  George  Beach  de  Forest,  in  mere  con- 
templation of  the  Elzevir  books,  the  hours  fly  wildly  as  if  a 
furious  god  chased  them  with  whips  through  the  vast  azure. 
There  is  the  "Cassar"  of  1635,  lamo,  one  copy  in  old  mo- 
rocco with  monogram  of  Canon  Digby,  and  one  copy  in  red 
morocco  with  gilt  lines,  in  the  style  affected  by  Duseuil.  The 
paper,  the  type,  the  ornaments,  the  engraved  title,  the  maps, 
the  accurate  text,  enchant.  Willems  says  that  it  is  "  the 
greatest  book  of  the  Elzevirs,"  and  the  best  alcade  is  the  King. 
But  there  is  the  'Mmitatione  Christi,"  not  dated,  i2mo, 
bound  by  Cuzin.     It  bears  the  imprint: 

Lugduni,  apud  Joh :  et  Dan :  Elsevirios. 

"  Batavorum "  never  appeared  on  the  title-page  of  Elzevir 
books  printed  for  sale  in  Catholic  countries  ;  John  and  Daniel 
were  in  partnership  from  the  end  of  1652  to  May,  1655,  and 
they  printed  Corneille's  version  of  the  "Imitation"  in  1653, 
so  that  the  "Imitatione"  may  be  ascribed  to  the  year  1653. 
It  is  a  jewel.  The  Elzevirs  of  Amsterdam  tried  in  vain  to  re- 
produce it  in  their  dated  edition  of  1658.  Like  an  arrow,  a 
book  may  or  may  not  strike  the  same  point  twice,  however 
surely  aimed.  Reprinted  twice  in  1635,  the  original  "Cas- 
sar  "  is  perfect,  the  first  reprint  is  admirable,  and  the  second 
reprint  is  passable.  The  original  is  easily  distinguished  by 
comparison  with  the  reprints ;  or  by  the  head-piece  to  the 
dedication  and  to  page  i,  which  is  a  buffalo-head,  and  by  er- 
rors in  the  numbering  of  pages  149,  335,  and  475.     They  are 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  79 

numbered  153,  345,  and  375.  The  head-piece  to  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  first  rejjrint  is  a  siren,  and  page  238  is  numbered 
by  error  248.  The  second  reprint  has  4  instead  of  12  pre- 
liminary leaves,  526  pages  of  37  lines  instead  of  561  pages 
of  35  lines,  and  17  instead  of  70  unnumbered  leaves  of 
index. 

There  is  the  "  Seneca  "  of  1640,  in  red  morocco  lined  with 
red  morocco,  marked  on  the  covers  at  the  center  and  corners, 
and  on  the  backs,  in  gilt,  with  the  emblem  used  by  the  chi- 
valric  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece.  Longepierre,  a  marquis  of 
the  last  century,  and  a  pale  playwright,  adopted  that  emblem 
after  he  had  obtained  a  quasi-triumph  with  his  "Medee." 
The  play  is  not  good.  The  emblem  is  prettily  decorative, 
but  it  is  not  emblematic  of  Longepierre,  marquis;  nor  of 
Longepierre,  playwright;  nor  of  the  philosophy  of  Seneca. 
Nevertheless,  Longepierre  was  a  great  book-collector,  and  the 
handicraft  of  the  book-covers  made  for  him  is  excellent. 

There  is  the  "Cicero"  of  1642,  in  olive  morocco  lined 
with  red  morocco,  once  the  property  of  La  Roche-La  Carelle. 
There  are  the  "Commines"  of  1648,  in  red  morocco,  with 
fleurs-de-lis  at  the  corners  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet,  formerly  the 
property  of  Paillet;  the  "Pharsale  de  Lucain,"  1658,  in  red 
morocco,  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet,  formerly  owned  by  L.  de 
Montgermont ;  the  "Gallerie  des  Femmes  Fortes,"  1660,  in 
covers  by  Derome,  formerly  in  the  Marquis  collection.  There 
are  the  "Sagesse"of  Charron,  the  edition  not  dated,  less 
beautiful  but  scarcer  than  the  edition  of  1656  which  it  copied, 
changing  only  the  dedication;  the  "Boccaccio,"  1665,  in 
blue  morocco,  wrongly  attributed  by  Brunet  to  the  press  of 
Blaeu ;  the  "Horace"  of  1629,  in  brown  morocco ;  the  "  Hor- 
ace" of  1676,  i2mo,  in  red  morocco,  formerly  in  the  Ham- 


80  FOUR    PRIVATE    LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

ilton  Palace  collection;  the  "Livy"  of  1678,  in  red  morocco, 
by  Trautz-Bauzonnet,  all  the  history  of  Titus-Livius  in  one 
volume  —  merciful  Elzevirs ! 

There  is  the  turbulent  "Pastissier  Francois,"  1655,  in  cit- 
ron morocco  lined  with  blue  morocco,  with  compartments  of 
straight  and  curved  lines  on  the  covers,  with  dotted  lines  on 
the  lining,  gilt,  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet,  and  the  very  copy  which 
caused  the  turbulence,  the  copy  that  Ernest  Quentin-Bauchart 
sold  for  4600  francs,  as  if  francs  were  notes  based,  as  financiers 
of  the  Wild  West  say,  on  unborn  herds  of  buffaloes  in  undis- 
covered prairies. 

There  is  the  "Aimable  MeredeJ^sus,"  incomparably  scarcer, 
167 1,  in  green  morocco,  inlaid  with  a  silver  lily  and  lined 
in  white  vellum,  with  angels  and  stars  gilt,  by  Ruban.  The 
special  cause  for  the  scarcity  of  the  book  may  be  found  in 
"  L'Edit  du  Roy  pour  le  Reglement  des  Imprimeurs  et  Li- 
braires  de  Paris,"  published  by  Thierry  in  1687.  The  fifth 
article  of  the  edict  enjoined  booksellers  and  printers  from 
using  fictitious  names  of  booksellers  ;  an  example  of  its  en- 
forcement is  given  in  "the  book  having  for  title  'L'Aimable 
M^re  de  J^sus,'  and  at  the  foot  '  printed  at  Amiens  by  the 
Widow  Hubault,  with  privilege,'  and  the  said  book  was 
printed  at  Amsterdam  by  Daniel  Elzevir."  The  entire  con- 
signment received  at  Amiens  was  confiscated.  The  imprint 
is  not  exactly  reproduced  in  "L'Edit."  It  is:  "A  Amiens, 
pour  la  Veuve  du  [sic]  Robert  Hubant,  rue  de  Beaupuis,  1671. 
Avec  Privilege  du  Roy."  This  was  changed,  in  some  copies 
that  had  not  been  sent  to  Amiens,  into:  "Seconde  Edition. 
A  Cologne,  et  se  vend  i  Paris  chez  Thomas  Joly,  1677." 
This  copy  measures  137  millimeters,  and  is  the  tallest  copy 
known. 


L'AIMABLE    MERE    DE    JESUS,"    ELZEVIR,    1671 

BINDING    INLAID    WITH    LILY    OF    SILVER,    BY    RUBAN. 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  8l 

There  is  the  "Moliere"  of  1675,  in  red  morocco  with 
dotted  lines  gilt  by  Cap^.  This  edition,  formed  of  26  plays 
published  separately  by  Elzevir,  has  in  its  fifth  volume  a 
comedy  of  Brecourt,  "  L'Ombre  de  Moliere,"  and  "Les  In- 
termfedes  du  Malade  Imaginaire."  "  La  Cocue  Imaginaire," 
by  Donneau  de  Vise,  printed  by  Elzevir  in  1662,  is  inserted. 
The  pages  measure  133  millimeters,  and  there  are  many 
witnesses  —  that  is,  uncut  leaves:  the  French  say  temoins  — 
to  prove  that  the  margins  were  not  heedlessly  reduced  by  the 
bookbinder. 

Height  of  copies  has  been,  for  a  longer  time  than  book- 
collectors  may  suppose,  and  is  fatally,  an  important  consid- 
eration in  Elzevir  books.  The  inventory  of  LaGallissonniere, 
made  in  1725  or  thereabout,  contained  a  "  Cicero"  of  1642, 
which  brought,  for  the  reason  that  it  was  uncut,  the  sum,  fabu- 
lous for  the  time,  of  200  francs.  The  "Regnier"  of  1652, 
in  the  library  of  Mr.  de  Forest,  in  covers  in  mosaic,  after  a 
design  of  Padeloup  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet,  is  uncut. 

Here  it  becomes  necessary  to  open  a  very  large  parenthesis. 
A  book  bound,  by  an  artist  of  the  decade,  in  full  morocco, 
may  or  may  not  be  uncut,  but  it  must  be  all  gilt.  A  book 
bound  in  full  morocco  is  finally  bound  ;  but  the  art  of  book- 
binding is  an  art  of  the  decade.  The  Elzevir  editions  were 
published  with  leaves  fitted  to  covers  in  amazing  uniformity. 
Then  collectors  caused  them  to  be  uncovered  and  recovered 
successively  by  various  workmen,  according  to  varying  tastes. 
In  the  time  before  Trautz  and  Lortic  every  recovering  en- 
tailed a  reducing  of  margins.  Trautz  was  not  an  artist  of  the 
decade,  but  he  was  a  great  artist  in  book-covers,  and  book- 
lovers  regard  as  pure  vandalism  the  discarding  of  Trautz 
covers.     He  might  have  cut  the  leaves  of  the  "Regnier"  of 


82  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

1652,  since  he  was  making  for  it  a  marvel  of  the  century  — 
that  is,  covers  in  mosaic  signed  Trautz-Bauzonnet.  It  was 
one  of  twenty-two  mosaics,  twenty-two  masterpieces,  that  he 
invented.  He  knew  perfectly  the  value  of  his  work  ;  he  was 
not  less  proud  of  it  than  Jose  Maria  de  Heredia  is  of  his  son- 
nets. His  traditions,  his  self-respect,  his  love  of  harmony, 
the  assurance  that  he  and  collectors  of  Elzevirs  had  of  the 
inviolability  of  his  work  for  all  time  —  everything  induced 
his  cutting  of  the  leaves  of  the  uncut  "Regnier"  of  1652. 
He  preferred  to  give  to  the  world  a  book  twice  marvelous  : 
AN  Elzevir  gilt  on  uncut  edges  in  mosaic  covers  of  Trautz- 
Bauzonnet.     Here  closes  the  parenthesis. 

The  covers  of  the  "  Regnier "  of  1652  are  reproduced  in 
gold  and  colors  in  the  frontispiece  to  "Four  Private  Libraries 
of  New-York."  Their  lining  is  of  red  morocco  with  lace 
border.  I  have  reserved  for  the  end  of  this  chapter,  "De- 
scription de  la  Ville  d' Amsterdam  en  Vers  Burlesques,"  be- 
cause its  dedicatory  epistle  will  please  the  burgomasters  of 
New  Amsterdam : 

A  tr6s  vilains,  tr^s  sales,  tr^s  lourds,  tr^s  malpropres  et  trSs 
ignorants  Messieurs  les  boueurs  et  cureurs  des  canaux  d' Am- 
sterdam, 

Until  1639,  Bonaventure  and  Abraham  Elzevir  made  use 
of  a  paper  smaller  than  the  paper  used  for  the  "Seneca  "  of 
1640.  The  art  of  the  decade  gives  130  millimeters  as  the 
height  of  the  tallest  "  Caesar"  of  1635  extant,  and  regards  as 
extremely  scarce  copies  of  Elzevir  books  antedating  the  "  Sen- 
eca," measuring  more  than  130  millimeters.  The  art  of  the 
decade  decrees  that  Elzevir  books  of  1640  and  after  shall 
have  from  133  to  138  millimeters  in  height,  unless  they  hap- 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK  83 

pen  to  be  volumes  of  Amsterdam  like  the  "Baudii  Epistolas" 
of  1654  or  the  "  Malebranche  "  or  "  St.-Disdier  "  of  1680, 
for  these  may  measure  145  millimeters.  Of  course  all  this 
applies  to  duodecimo  volumes.  The  others  are  not  as  firm  in 
the  affection  of  book-lovers. 

Graceful,  severe,  correct,  of  a  great  epoch,  the  Elzevir  books, 
as  the  art  of  the  decade  defines  them  in  the  manual  of  Willems, 
as  they  are  chosen  at  present  —  not  only  with  an  Elzevirme- 
ter,  a  purse  of  Fortunatus,  and  a  copy  of  Willems,  but  with 
individual,  special  taste  —  have  greater  claims  than  ever  be- 
fore to  enthusiastic  appreciation.  They  are  naive,  those  who 
quote  as  if  they  were  of  surprising  magnitude  the  thousands 
and  thousands  of  francs  brought  by  "L'lUustre  Theatre  de  M. 
Corneille,"  and  the  "Maxlmes"  of  La  Rochefoucauld,  books 
of  the  Elzevirs,  at  the  sale  of  the  Paillet  library. 


^ 


THE    VIGNETTISTS. 

Of  the  eighteenth  century  it  is  not  the  poetry  that  is  pre- 
cious. Voluptuous,  its  shepherds  had  in  their  veins  rose-wa- 
ter ;  the  gods  that  it  made  of  the  forces  and  energies  of  Nature 
were  of  soft  paste.  Its  paganism  was  vague.  It  recited  ec- 
logues of  love,  madrigals,  vows,  romances;  it  served,  as  Mus- 
set  said,  milk  and  sugar  in  tender-green  tights.  In  poems, 
Egle  had  an  inch  of  rouge  on  her  cheeks,  and  Tircis  wore 
garnet-colored  bows  at  his  knees. 

In  paintings,  the  personages  divinely  sad  of  Watteau  wan- 
dering in  the  ideal,  the  Dianas  of  Boucher  with  chalky  thighs 
whipped  with  red,  the  peasants  and  gallants  of  Lancret  and 
Pater  in  dress  of  satin,  proclaimed  without  effusion  the  religion 
of  Life  in  the  enchantment  of  dreams.  They  were  marvel- 
ously  drawn  ;  they  were  prodigiously  graceful. 

At  the  Renaissance,  when  men  returned  to  antiquity,  after 
centuries  of  torture  and  painful  relinquishment,  it  was  Jules  the 
Roman,  it  was  the  plastic  arts  that  celebrated  Aphrodite,  the 
universal  desire  of  gods  and  beasts,  Danae  and  the  rain  of  gold, 
Leda  palpitating  under  the  kiss  of  the  swan,  the  creative  force 
that  links  in  one  chain  all  beings  and  things.  In  the  eigh- 
teenth century  in  France,  in  an  age  of  triumph  and  luxury, 
when  men  learned  in  all  the  arts,  ennobled  by  battles, 
crowned  with  flowers,  admired  in  women  beautiful  as  god- 
desses matter  spiritualized,  it  was  again  the  arts  of  design 
and  the  plastic  arts  that  expressed  them. 

Two  book-lovers  of  the  decade,  Edmond  and  Jules  de  Gon- 
court,  wrote  of  the  art  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and,  in- 
84 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  85 

stantly,  the  "Depart  pour  Cyth^re,"  that  the  Academic  des 
Beaux  Arts  had  relegated  into  a  corner  of  the  studio  of  David's 
pupils,  was  placed  into  the  Salon  Carre  of  the  Louvre.  About 
the  quarto  edition  of  Voltaire's  works,  published  in  1 768,  with 
prints  by  Gravelot,  Grimm  wrote : 

It  should  have  been  a  beautiful  octavo  edition ;  ...  it  should 
have  been  without  pictures,  for  these  will  soon  destroy  in  France 
the  taste  for  drawing  and  tjrpography. 

Voltaire  wrote  to  Fyot  de  la  Marche : 

I  have  never  liked  prints  in  books :  what  does  a  woodcut  mat- 
ter to  me  when  I  am  reading  the  second  book  of  Virgil,  and  what 
graver  may  add  anything  to  the  description  of  the  city  of  Troy  ? 

Alas !  the  book-lovers  of  the  decade  would  not  have  a  work 
of  Voltaire  if  it  were  not  for  the  vignettists  who  have  made 
some  books  of  Voltaire  valuable.  Edmond  and  Jules  de  Con- 
court  picked  them  out  of  the  fifteen-cent  boxes  of  the  parapets 
on  the  quays  of  Paris,  as  archaeologists  picked  out  of  neglected 
graveyards  figurines  of  Tanagra. 

In  turning  the  leaves  of  the  books  of  the  vignettists,  in  the 
library  of  Mr.  de  Forest,  I  have  seen  perfectly  the  garden  of 
Watteau,  and  the  boat  where  the  martyrs  of  love  embark  for 
the  sad  and  mad  Cythera.  There  were  Silvia  and  her  valet 
Dorante,  she  divining  that  he  was  a  marquis  in  disguise ; 
Satan  in  pigeon-throat  colored  cloak;  Columbine  flirting 
with  a  black  Scaramouch  and  a  pink  Mezzetin  ;  and  Egle  and 
Aminte.  I  have  seen  alleys  of  trees  and  flowers  lengthened 
and  enlarged  into  landscapes  where  shone  silver  lakes,  where 
grew  bowers  of  Le  Notre  bordered  with  white  statues ;  a  Pom- 
padour with  long  train  of  dazzling  brocade,  worn  expressly  to 


86  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

be  copied  by  Latour  in  a  pastel ;  comedians  seated  in  the  grass 
before  a  green  curtain  formed  of  antique  trees ;  women,  in 
gowns  of  satin,  singing  while  Gilles  played  the  flute  of  Pan. 
A  penetrating  charm  envelops  with  the  immense  sadness  of 
joy  the  scenes  and  the  personages. 

The  eighteenth  century  had  not  a  pleiad  of  poets,  but  it  had 
a  pleiad  of  artists.  They  were  the  vignettists  Eisen,  Moreau, 
Gravelot,  Boucher,  Cochin,  Marillier,  and  Choffart.  In  other 
constellations  were  other  vignettists,  and  all  were  relatives 
of  Watteau  and  Marivaux.  There  were  some  who  were  faith- 
ful copyists  of  costumes,  and  there  were  some  who  were  not ; 
there  were  those  who  reflected  and  those  who  illuminated; 
but  they  were  all  kindred  of  the  painter  of  Comedy  and  of 
the  author  of  "Marianne,"  and  they  amalgamated  in  ideal 
figures  the  theater  and  life.  I  know  the  profound  science  by 
which  their  work  is  classified  in  favor  of  students  of  human 
documents,  in  favor  of  psychologists,  in  favor  of  philosophers 
and  moralists ;  but  Perdican  of  Musset,  who  lived  in  their 
parks,  where  murmur  leaves  and  sonorous  fountains,  ex- 
pressed about  flowers  the  impression  that  I  have  of  vignettes 
in  books  of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  are  fragrant  and 
beautiful,  voila  tout !  They  are  the  lily  and  the  rose,  they 
are  vignettes  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

They  are — on  Holland  paper — the  illustrations  made  by 
Eisen  for  a  translation  of  "Anacreon,  Sapho,  Bion  et  Mos- 
chus,"  1773,  augmented  in  this  volume  with  opuscules  of 
Musaeus  and  Theocritus,  1774,  also  Gallicized  by  Moutonnet 
Clairfons,  and  the  entire  series  of  head-  and  tail-pieces  of  Eisen 
in  artist  proofs  taken  without  text,  impressions  acute  and 
brilliant  as  proofs  of  medals ;  the  illustrations  made  by  Grave- 
lot,  Boucher,  Cochin,  and  Eisen,  for  "Le  Ddcam^ron,"  1757- 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  87 

1 76 1,  in  five  volumes  uncut,  in  covers  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet, 
proofs  indorsed  with  a  signature  printed,  augmented  with  the 
entire  series  of  secret  illustrations  of  Gravelot,  etchings,  and 
two  states  of  the  plate  made  for  the  first  tale  of  the  eighth 
day  in  the  Italian  edition  printed  in  Paris  in  1757.  They 
are  the  illustrations  made  by  JVionnet  and  JVloitte  for  the 
"Aventures  de  Telemaque,"  1785,  augmented  with  proofs 
of  illustrations  made  by  Marillier,  Cochin,  Moreau,  and 
Boucher;  those  made  by  Gravelot  for  the  "Tom  Jones"  of 
1750,  inserted  in  the  French  edition,  translation  of  La  Be- 
doy^re,  1833;  those  made  by  Smirke,  Marillier,  and  others 
for  fairy  tales,  inserted  in  "Les  Mille  et  Une  Nuits,"  1822- 
1825;  and  those  made  by  Marillier  for  "Tangu  et  Felime," 
1780.  They  are,  on  China  paper,  proofs  of  the  illustrations 
made  by  Smirke,  Marillier,  and  Desenne  for  "Gil  Bias,"  in- 
serted in  the  edition  annotated  by  Franfois  de  NeufchSteau 
aided  by  Hugo,  a  large-paper  copy,  1820,  in  covers  by  the 
incomparable  Lortic. 

The  frontispieces  made  by  Cochin  and  Moreau,  and  the 
frontispiece,  head-  and  tail-pieces,  and  illustrations  in  the  text 
made  by  Eisen,  for  "Tarsis  et  Zelie,"  1774.  In  three  states, 
on  vellum,  the  portrait  of  Montesquieu  bySaint-Aubin,  and  the 
illustrations  by  Regnault  and  Le  Barbier  for  "  Le  Temple  de 
Guide,"  1795,  in  covers  by  Bozerian.  Plates  engraved  by 
Le  Mire,  impressions  with  remarques  before  the  rose,  before 
the  flag,  and  before  the  cloud  of  the  illustrations  made  by 
Eisen  for  "Le  Temple  de  Guide,"  1772,  in  covers  of  orange 
morocco,  ornamented  with  roses  and  loving,  cooing  doves, 
by  Trautz-Bauzonnet. 

They  are  the  illustrations  made  by  Le  Barbier  for  the 
"Chansons  Nouvelles,"  1785,  augmented  with  the  portrait 


88  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

of  Piis  engraved  by  Gaucher.  The  illustrations  made  by 
Pasquier  and  Le  Bas  for  the  "Manon  Lescaut,"  1753,  on  Hol- 
land paper ;  and,  in  proofs  and  etchings,  those  made  by  Le- 
fevre  for  the  "Manon  Lescaut,"  1797.  The  illustrations 
made  by  Moreau  and  Freudeberg  for  "Tableaux  de  la  Bonne 
Campagnie,"  1787,  uncut,  in  covers  by  Cuzin,  augmented 
with  the  plate  of  the  Boudoir  made  for  a  later  edition,  the 
illustrations  made  and  published  by  Moreau  under  the  title  of 
"Seconde  Suite  d'Estampes  pour  Servir  a  I'Histoire  des  Modes 
et  du  Costume,"  and  illustrations  made  by  Freudeberg  for  an 
almanac  of  the  time,  in  the  state  of  proofs  on  special  paper. 
The  illustrations  made  by  Lef^vre,  proofs  and  etchings,  for 
"Voyages  de  Gulliver,"  1797,  large  paper,  in  covers  orna- 
mented at  the  back  with  a  sailing  vessel,  by  Bozerian,  in  a 
primitive,  initial,  touching  ambition  for  symbolism.  The 
illustrations  made  by  Eisen  for  "Le  Tableau  de  la  Volupte," 
1 77 1,  and  for  "La  Pipe  Cass^e,"  in  the  state  of  artist  proofs 
taken  without  text — a  state  unique.  The  illustrations  made 
by  Lefevre  for  "Primerose,"  1797,  two  copies,  in  one  of 
which,  in  covers  by  Thibaron-Joly,  are  proofs  and  etchings. 
The  illustrations,  unsigned,  made  probably  by  Eisen  for 
twenty  tales  in  verse,  unknown  to  bibliographers,  united  under 
the  title  of  "Vingt  Contes  en  Vers,"  1760;  those  made  by 
Vig^e  and  Queverdo  for  "  Romans  et  Contes  "  of  Voisenon, 
1798,  in  the  state  of  proofs  on  vellum  paper ;  and,  in  proofs, 
the  portraits  by  Saint-Aubin  and  pictures  by  Moreau  for  the 
Works  of  Voltaire.  The  proofs  of  the  illustrations  by  Gerard 
and  Prudhon  for  "Les  Amours  Pastorales  de  Daphnis  et 
Chlo^,"  1800,  on  large  vellum  paper;  augmented  with  proofs 
of  the  illustrations  made  by  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  engraved 
by  Audran  for  the  edition  called  Regent;  proofs  and  etchings 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK  89 

of  illustrations  made  by  Le  Barbier  for  an  unpublished,  un- 
finished edition ;  proofs  on  China  paper  and  etchings  of  a  series 
of  illustrations  by  Prudhon,  Gerard,  and  Hersent  ;  proof  and 
etching  of  an  illustration  of  the  bath  of  Daphnis,  made  by 
Prudhon  for  the  duodecimo  edition  of  Renouard  ;  four  litho- 
graphs of  Prudhon's  "Saisons,"  and  many  other  illustrations, 
among  which  may  be  noted,  in  proof  and  in  etching,  the  one 
of  Pan  made  by  Gravelot  for  the  "Metamorphoses  d'Ovide," 
1767-1771.  The  frontispiece  by  Coypel,  illustrations  by 
the  Duke  of  Orleans,  engraving  by  Count  Caylus  called 
"  Petits  Pieds,"  illustration  in  the  text  by  Scotin,  and  orna- 
mented letters,  made  for  the  edition  called  Regent  of  "  Les 
Amours  Pastorales  de  Daphnis  et  Chloe,"  1718.  The  "Pe- 
tits Pieds"  plate  appeared  in  1728;  the  edition  of  1718  was 
reprinted  in  1745.  with  date  of  the  engraved  frontispiece, 
1718,  unchanged;  in  the  reprint  the  capital  letters  are  not 
engraved,  and  there  are  156  pages  of  the  novel  and  20  sepa- 
rate pages  of  notes  by  Lancelot,  whereas  the  original  contains 
164  pages  and  no  notes  by  Lancelot. 

As  charming  are  the  illustrations  made  by  Leffevre  for  the 
"Lettres  d'une  Peruvienne,"  1797,  of  Mme.  de  Graffigny,  a 
descendant  of  Callot,  who  used  his  copperplates  for  kitchen 
pots  ;  illustrations  in  this  copy,  which  is  on  large  vellum,  are 
in  the  state  of  proofs  and  etchings.  The  illustrations  made  by 
Eisen,  Cochin,  Le  Lorrain,  and  Vasse  for  "  Delia  Natura  Delle 
Cose,"  1754,  in  covers  by  Padeloup  ;  those  made  by  Duplessi- 
Bertaux  for  "La  Pucelle  d'Orleans,"  1780,  and  by  Monnet, 
Marillier,  Martini,  and  Moreau  for  "  Romans  et  Contes,"  1778, 
of  Voltaire.  The  illustrations  made  by  Marillier,  his  master- 
piece, for  "Fables  Nouvelles,"  1773,  of  Dorat,  in  covers  of 
blue  morocco  lined  with  red  morocco,  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet ; 


90  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

by  Rigaud,  Vispre,  Choffart,  and  Eisen,  the  masterpiece  of 
Eisen,  for  "  Contes  et  Nouvelles  en  Vers,"  1762,  of  La  Fon- 
taine, edition  ordered  and  directed  by  the  opulent  Fermiers- 
G^neraux  of  the  kingdom ;  by  Marillier  for  the  "  Idylles," 
1775,  of  Berquin,  in  covers  tooled  and  gilt  by  Derome ;  by 
Leftvre  for  "Ollivier,"  1798;  by  Leclerc  for  **Les  Quatre 
Heures  de  la  Toilette  des  Dames,"  1779,  with  the  original 
drawings  of  Leclerc  for  the  frontispiece  and  the  coat  of  arms  ; 
by  Desforges,  probably,  for  his  autobiographical  "Le  Poete," 
1799,  with  the  original  drawings;  by  Moreau  for  "Lettres 
k  Emilie  sur  la  Mythologie,"  1809,  proofs  on  vellum  paper 
uncut,  in  covers  by  Bauzonnet;  by  Laffitte  for  "Point  de 
Lendemain,"  1812,  on  vellum,  with  the  original  drawing; 
proofs  before  letters,  artist  proofs,  remarque  proofs,  etchings, 
fabulous  states  of  plates,  brilliant  as  diamonds  in  furious 
floods  of  light. 

The  "Liaisons  Dangereuses,"  1796,  in  two  volumes  that 
are  favored  by  Paul  Bourget  with  grade  in  a  line  with  "Rouge 
et  Noir"  of  Stendhal  and  the  "Imitation  of  Christ,"  as  vol- 
umes of  profound  psychology,  have  illustrations  made  by 
Monnet,  IVllle.  Gerard  and  Fragonard  fih,  in  three  states, 
uncut  in  pale-blue  rococo  covers  lined  with  white,  by  Ruban ; 
the  "Amours  du  Chevalier  de  Faublas,"  1798,  four  volumes, 
have  illustrations  in  proofs,  in  etchings,  and  in  colors  by 
Demarne,  Dutertre,  Mile.  Gerard,  Marillier,  Monsiau,  and 
Monnet;  and  the  "Choix  de  Chansons"  of  Laborde,  1773, 
the  mate  of  the  "Contes"  of  the  Fermiers-G^n^raux,  in  vari- 
ety of  costumes,  a  masterpiece  of  illustration  in  the  first  vol- 
ume (illustrated  by  Moreau),  a  graceful,  pleasant  work  of 
illustration  in  the  last  three  volumes  (illustrated  by  Le  Bou- 
teux,  Le  Barbier,  and  Saint-Quentin),  has  the  portrait  of  La- 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK  9I 

borde  ornamented  with  a  lyre,  which  Masquelier  engraved  a 
year  after  the  work  was  published.  All  the  art  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  is  represented  in  this  gift  of  a  lyre  to  Laborde, 
this  attribution  of  the  symbol  of  the  divine  and  immortal  in 
man,  made  of  clay  but  animated  with  celestial  fire,  to  an  un- 
inspired, illyrical  musician  !  The  art  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury gave  its  charm  unreservedly. 

It  gave  to  the  voices  of  the  lovers,  in  the  pastoral  of  Longus, 
murmurs  of  rivulets;  to  their  lips  blushes  of  roses;  to  their 
kisses  the  chastity  of  angels.  In  their  eyes  are  their  souls  re- 
flected, filled  with  Heaven.  They  are  radiant  with  beauty  and 
gracefulness,  and  guarded  by  their  innocence,  by  their  igno- 
rance, by  the  calm  and  refreshing  nature  that  surrounds  them 
and  that  their  happiness  enchants.  It  took  from  the  Farmers- 
General,  and  from  the  Governor  of  the  Louvre,  their  fields, 
their  forests,  their  vines  and  their  prairies,  and  changed  them 
into  the  satins,  velvets,  brocades,  silver,  and  diamonds  of  in- 
comparable engravings.  It  gave  to  the  "  Fables,"  wherein  La 
Fontaine  expressed  Bonaventure  Desperiers,  Louise  Labe,  Bid- 
pay,  Regnier,  Rabelais,  Hesiod,  Guichardin,  Tabarin,  Gratte- 
lard,  Phaedrus,  and  y€sop,  the  inspiration,  the  science,  and  the 
elegance  of  the  pictures  of  Oudry.  It  made  Gallic  the  gods  of 
Ovid;  it  represented  the  heroines  of  the  "Contes"  of  La  Fon- 
taine in  their  triumphant  youthfulness,  the  Constances  and 
the  Clities  whom  young  men  will  ever  applaud,  dressed  in 
gowns  becoming : 

Corps  piqu6  d'or,  garnitures  de  prix, 
Ajustement  de  princesse  et  de  reine. 


ORIGINAL    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

It  was  not  a  painting  of  the  Flemish  school,  a  David  Teniers, 
a  Breughel  of  Hades,  so  enveloped  with  smoke  as  to  make 
invisible  the  devil. 

It  is  a  manuscript  gnawed  by  rats  at  the  edges,  in  writing  all 
enmeshed  and  of  an  ink  blue  and  red. 

"  I  suspect  the  author,"  said  the  bibliophile,  "lived  at  the  end 
of  the  reign  of  Louis  XII.,  that  King  of  paternal  and  abundant 
fame." 

"Yes,"  he  continued,  with  grave  and  meditative  air,  "yes,  he 
was  a  clerk  in  the  house  of  the  Sires  of  Chateauvieux." 

Then  he  turned  the  leaves  of  an  immense  folio  entitled  "  Le 
Nobiliaire  de  France,"  wherein  he  found  mentioned  only  the 
Sires  of  Chateauneuf. 

"  It  does  not  matter,"  he  said,  a  little  confused.  "  Chateau- 
neuf and  Chateauvieux  are  one  and  the  same  castle.  Anyhow, 
it  is  time  to  rechristen  the  Pont-Neuf." 

1  HIS  picture  of  an  old-fashioned  book-collector,  made  in  an 
unknown  masterpiece,  the  "  Gaspard  de  la  Nuit "  of  Aloj^s 
Bertrand,  is  composite. 

It  gives  in  an  admirable  synthesis  the  portrait  and  the  state 
of  mind  of  the  collector  of  books  antique  ;  of  the  collector  of 
books  who,  in  doubt,  assumed  ;  of  the  collector  of  books  who, 
when  workmen  failed  in  the  art  of  gilding,  praised  as  "chaste" 
gold  lines  lead-colored,  edges  of  leaves  livid,  leather  covers  Jan- 
senist ;  of  the  collector  of  books  from  whom  books  acquired 
nothing. 

9a 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  93 

It  forms  an  effective  contrast  with  the  picture  of  the  book- 
lover,  lover  of  art,  lover  of  the  beautiful,  for  whom  painters 
who  are  great  inventors  and  great  colorists  lavish  cadmium, 
Veronese  green,  vermilion  of  China,  all  the  colors  of  jewels, 
and  the  magic  of  sketches  on  the  pages  of  books. 

The  book-lover  is  active,  creative,  powerful ;  and  his  dis- 
tant relative,  the  book-collector  described  by  Bertrand,  passive, 
indifferent,  flaccid.  He  orders,  he  pleads,  he  argues ;  he  ob- 
tains the  unobtainable.  When  he  has  obtained  it  the  work 
may  be  spoiled,  for  therie  are  great  painters  inefficient  as  illus- 
trators of  books ;  it  may  express  the  artist  and  not  the  writer ; 
it  may  be  a  comment  and  not  an  illumination.  He  never 
yields;  he  never  deceives  himself  with  the  illusion  that  Cha- 
teauvieux  and  Chateauneuf  are  interchangeable  terms  ;  he  has 
the  device  of  Eviradnus: 

Without  ever  being  absent  or  saying  I  am  tired ; 

and  if  all  human  efforts  fail,  he  may  still  charm  books  into 
perfection  with  passion  in  ecstasy. 

In  the  library  of  Mr.  de  Forest  there  are  two  copies,  illus- 
trated, of  "Mademoiselle  de  Maupin,"  1836.  One  is  by  Ed- 
mond  Morin,  illustrator  of  "Monsieur,  Madame  et  Bebe,"  of 
the  "Chronique  de  Charles  IX.,"  of  the  "  Hotel  des  Haricots," 
the  walls  in  the  cells  of  which  were  filled  with  sketches  made 
by  artists,  prisoners  of  the  National  Guard  in  the  time  of 
Louis-Philippe ;  painter  of  street,  garden,  and  park  scenes, 
and  unrevealed,  except  in  this  work,  as  an  admirable  inter- 
preter, in  lines  and  in  colors,  of  Gautier.  The  other  is  by  John 
Lewis  Brown,  celebrated  as  a  painter  of  sporting  and  military 
scenes,  and  not  in  the  least  acclaimed  as  the  diviner,  the 
genial  delineator,  of  the  profound  fantasy  of  Gautier,  that  this 


94  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

book  proclaims.  Every  artist  has,  perhaps,  a  masterpiece  un- 
made, a  conception  that  only  a  book-lover  might  bring  to 
light. 

There  are  "L'Assommoir,"  1877,  illustrated  by  Edmond 
Morin,with  pictures  of  Gervaise  ironing  while  Lanthier  reads, 
the  fight  in  the  lavatory,  the  parade  of  the  newly  wedded  and 
their  guests,  the  feast  where  the  slang  of  Mes-Bottes  excels, 
the  dreary  fall  of  snow  —  vivid,  real,  true  as  the  text,  and,  as 
the  text,  prodigiously  artistic;  ''Nana,"  1880,  illustrated  by 
Jazet  with  a  living  Blanche  d'Antigny,  an  acting  Rouher,  and 
the  principal  phases  in  the  drama  of  a  sad,  bad  life ;  "  La 
Terre,"  1887,  illustrated  by  P.  deCrouzat  with  a  superb  com- 
position for  a  frontispiece  of  the  sower,  faithful  to  the  text, 
and  not  in  the  slightest  aspect  reminiscent  of  Millet,  and  with 
scenes  and  personages  of  the  Beauce,  as  Zola  saw  them,  in 
the  margins. 

There  are  the  "Chambre  Bleue,"  1872,  "Compose  et 
Ecrit  par  Prosper  Merimee,  Fou  de  S.  M.  L'Imperatrice," 
illustrated  by  Albert  Lynch  with  figures  that  Merimee,  cyni- 
cal only  apparently,  would  applaud;  "L'Adoree,"  1887,  il- 
lustrated by  Jazet,  bound  by  Stikeman  in  mosaic,  framing  a 
portrait  on  ivory  of  the  Adoree  in  mosaic,  valuable  as  an  ini- 
tial American  attempt,  for  it  is  praiseworthy  to  attempt  high 
art  even  if  the  result  be  not  perfection. 

There  is  "Madame  Bovary,"  1857,  illustrated  by  Edmond 
Morin,  with  pictures  of  the  terribly  stubborn  Normand  villa- 
gers, the  readings  to  Emma,  the  carriage  wherein  she  enters 
at  the  door  of  the  cathedral  while  the  custode  in  uniform 
grumbles,  of  the  scenes  leading  to  the  final  desolation. 

There  is  "L' Amour  au  XVIII*  Si^cle,"  illustrated  with  pic- 
tures, vignettes,  borders  of  pages,  head-  and  tail-pieces,  every 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES  OF  NEW-YORK  95 

one  of  which  would  adorn  a  favorite  book  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     The  work  is  by  P.  de  Crouzat. 

There  are  "  Myosotis,"  1838,  illustrated  in  India  ink  on  the 
margins,  byChauvet;  "Fromontjeuneet  Risler  Aine,"  1874, 
by  Dagnan-Bouveret,  with  pictures  of  the  wedding  festival  at 
Vefour's,  the  workirien  counting  their  wages  at  the  cashier's 
window,  the  little  paved  courtyard  before  the  mortuary-room, 
Planus  and  Risler  in  the  concert-hall  where  Sidonie  sings : 

Pauv'  pitit  Mam'zelle  Zizi, 
Cast  I'amou,  I'amou  qui  tourne 
La  t^te  k  li. 

It  is  because  his  work,  in  these  illustrations  made  on  the 
pages  of  a  book,  is  for  one  person  that  the  artist  puts  in  it  so 
much  of  his  heart.  Made  to  be  engraved,  to  be  exhibited  in 
the  Rue  de  Seze,  at  the  Salon  or  the  Academy  of  Design,  the 
artist's  work  is  different.  He  knows  that  universal  suffrage 
is  incapable  of  conferring  glory,  that  the  public  burns  incense 
before  idols  that  melt  in  sunlight,  but  it  affects  him  often,  as 
it  affected  Moliere  in  the  composition  of  the  prologue  to 
"Amphitryon." 

There  is  the  "Physiologic  du  Mariage,"  1830,  on  Narcis- 
sus-colored paper,  illustrated  by  Chauvet  with  pictures  in 
India  ink  at  the  head  and  foot  of  every  chapter, — graceful,  deli- 
cate, subtle  as  Balzac  ;  inspired  and  animated  by  his  world  of 
prototypes  of  d'Arthez  bent  on  their  books,  of  Nucingen  in- 
venting millions,  of  Marsay  taming  men  by  science  and  by 
charm,  of  Rastignac  and  Rubempre  conquering  civilization  as 
invincible  Attilas  in  white  gloves,  of  Mesdames  d'Espard  and 
Maufrigneuse  leaving  behind  them  trails  of  light.     There  is 


g6  FOUR   PRIVATE    LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

the  portrait,  by  Malpertuy,  of  the  sensual,  athletic,  heroic, 
indefatigable  creator  of  "La  Comedie  Humaine." 

There  are  "  Pastels,"  1889,  illustrated  by  Paul  Destez  with 
pictures  in  pastel  of  Gladys  Harvey  hesitating  at  the  garden- 
gate  of  the  man  she  loves,  Mme.  Bressuire  at  the  tea-table, 
the  Comtesse  de  Candale  and  her  sister  the  Duchesse  d'Ar- 
cole,  the  Sefiorita  Rosario  with  her  duenna  at  her  balcony, 
Claire  and  Emile  M  .  .  . ,  Simone,  the  child  at  the  fireplace  in 
white  gown  and  with  hair  like  a  vapor  of  gold;  "Physio- 
logie  de  1' Amour  Moderne,"  1890,  with  pictures  in  water- 
colors  by  Eugfene  Bourdin,  tender,  refined,  subtle,  intense, 
modern,  and,  as  is  the  work  of  Paul  Bourget,  all  powdered 
with  dust  of  the  wings  of  Psyche, 

There  is  the  "Miroir  du  Monde,"  1888,  with  the  en- 
graved and  the  original  illustrations  of  Paul  Avril,  that  admi- 
rably reflect  the  aristocratic,  original,  independent,  extremely 
sensitive  ideas  of  Octave  Uzanne.  The  book  is  bound  by 
Ruban  in  claret-colored  morocco,  inlaid  with  a  crescent  of 
gold  whereon  Eros  seated  holds  a  mirror.  The  original  idea 
of  this  symbol  is  Avril's,  and  it  is  painted  by  him  on  the 
white  satin  lining  in  colors  of  the  region  of  stars  and  azure. 

There  are  "Les  Filles  du  Feu,"  1888,  with  the  original  il- 
lustrations of  the  engravings  by  Emile  Adan  ;  "La  Pleiade," 
Curmer's  copy  on  China  paper,  with  original  drawing  in  gold 
and  colors  on  vellum  by  Feart  for  the  frontispiece,  original 
drawings  by  Ch.  Jacque,  Feart,  and  Jeanron  for  the  ballads, 
tableaux,  novels,  and  legends  of  the  book,  bound  in  blue 
morocco  in  compartments,  with  lining  of  gold  cloth. 

There  is  "Eureka,"  illustrated  by  Jules  Adeline,  whom 
the  Gothic  Rouen  and  the  poetry  of  Poe  inspire,  with  the 
picture  in  colors  of  Poe's  cottage  at  Fordham. 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES   OF  NEW-YORK  97 

There  is  that  marvelous  record  of  the  vulgar,  the  common- 
place, and  the  pitifully  prosaic,  "Scenes  Populaires,"  1830, 
with  lithographs  of  the  illustrations  colored  and  signed  in 
full,  "Henry  Monnier."  Have  you  read  it?  Have  you  read 
the  photographic  chapter  of  it,  '*  Le  Roman  Chez  la  Por- 
tiere," wherein  Monnier  noted,  as  if  condemned  to  the  task 
for  some  horrible  crime  of  his  forefathers,  the  conversations 
of  old  women,  all  servants,  in  the  room  of  a  "  concierge,"  of 
a  "  concierge  "  of  the  time  of  Louis-Philippe  ? 

There  is  "Salammbo,"  1863,  illustrated  by  Louis  Titz  with 
pictures,  bathed  in  antique.  Oriental  light,  of  the  garden  of 
Hamilcar  where  the  mercenaries  have  their  orgy ;  the  lions 
crucified  on  the  red  hills ;  Salammbo  praying  on  the  terrace ; 
the  mantle  of  Tanit ;  the  meeting  of  Hamilcar  and  his  daugh- 
ter at  the  steps  of  the  palace ;  Salammbo  and  the  serpent ; 
Mathd  and  Salammb6 ;  the  sacrifice  to  Moloch ;  Spendius  on 
the  cross,  a  living  helpless  prey  of  the  vultures  ;  and  Narr, 
Havas,  and  Salammbo  dying.  In  the  published  correspon- 
dence of  Gustave  Flaubert  one  may  read  that  he  would  not 
give  the  manuscript  of  his  work  to  Michel  Levy  for  the  reason 
that  Michel  Levy  proposed  to  publish  it  with  illustrations. 
The  great  poet  was  one  of  those  for  whom  real  life  is  fiction, 
and  who  are  in  disguise  when  they  are  not  wearing,  as  is 
their  right,  cloth  of  gold  and  jewels.  Titz  has  magnificently 
illuminated  his  work.  It  is  bound  by  De  Samblancx  in  brown 
morocco,  with  small  compartments  in  mosaic  of  serpents  and 
pearls  of  the  antique  Kart-Khadasht,  lined  with  green  morocco, 
decorated  with  pearls  and  gold.  De  Samblancx  has,  in  this 
work,  obeyed  the  principles  of  the  art  of  bookbinding  so  faith- 
fully that,  if  the  book-lovers  were  a  grand  mandarinate,  he 
might  be  in  it  anybody  that  he  wished  to  be,  a  prince,  a 


90  FOUR    PRIVATE    LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

baron  in  a  fortress,  a  young  page  reclined  on  cushions  at  the 
feet  of  a  blonde  Yseult. 

There  is  the  reprint  by  De  Vinne  of  the  original  edition  of 
Sterne's  "Sentimental  Journey," illustrated  with  water-colors 
by  Henriot, 

There  is  "Mon  Oncle  Barbassou,"  illustrated  by  Paul  Avril 
with  additional  pictures  in  water-colors. 

There  is  a  record  of  a  Parisian  theatrical  season,  entitled 
"  Paris  Theatre,"  entirely  in  water-colors,  and  legends  in  the 
handwriting  of  Henriot.  On  the  first  page  the  final  tableau 
of  the  first  act  unrolls  its  painted  canvas  and  its  gauze  in  the 
harsh  clearness  of  the  electric  light  on  the  stage;  behind  the 
scenes  advance,  superb  in  their  clouds  of  muslin  and  tarlatan, 
in  colors  effaced,  sulphur-yellow,  pale-blue,  pink  of  China, 
light  lilac  embroidered  with  silk,  silver  and  jewels,  the  dan- 
cers of  the  ballet.  In  the  scenes  of  carnival  at  the  Opera  there 
are  dialogues  worthy  of  Gavarni,  as  this : 

—  Vous  ne  voulez  pas  vous  rafraichir  ? 

—  Si  9^  vous  est  ^gal  j'aimerais  mieux  manger. 

The  Moulin  Rouge  yields  a  medallion  of  its  queen,  La 
Goulue,  who  has  a  pale,  round  face  and  the  air  of  a  lunar 
goddess;  and  sketches  of  the  ladies  of  her  court,  M^me  Fro- 
mage,  Mesdemoiselles  Demi-Siphon,  Nini  Patte-en-l'air,  and 
others  not  yet  famous  enough  to  dance  with  Valentin  le  D^- 
sosse,  or  to  find  their  names  in  the  open  letters  which  Jules 
Lemaitre  sends  by  way  of  the  newspapers  to  his  country 
cousin. 

The  Porte  Saint-Martin  playhouse  yields  the  scenes  of  "Cl^ 
opAtre,"  by  Victorien  Sardou;  the  Palais-Royal,  of  "Un  Prix 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  99 

Montyon,"  by  Albin  Valabr^gue  and  Hennequin  ;  the  Vaude- 
ville, of  "Le  Depute  Leveau,"  by  Jules  Lemaitre,  and  of 
"Madame  Moncondin,"by  Blum  and  Toche  ;  the  Varietds,  of 
"Ma  Cousine,"  by  Henri  Meilhac ;  the  Gymnase,  of  "Mu- 
sotte,"  by  Guy  de  Maupassant  and  Jacques  Normand ;  the 
Theatre  Franfais,  of  "Thermidor,"  by  Victorien  Sardou. 

The  pictures  are  accurate,  the  portraits  of  the  players  are 
good  portraits,  the  costumes,  actions,  gestures,  are  faithfully 
represented,  and  the  plots  are  admirably  stated,  although  in 
a  humorous  and  gently  satirical  vein.  When  Paris  shall  dis- 
appear like  Thebes  and  Nineveh,  when  the  Seine  shall  return 
to  the  bent  reeds,  when  the  names  that  designate  the  Parisian 
playhouses  shall  be  effaced  from  the  memory  of  men,  "  Paris 
Theatre"  of  Henriot  shall  be  a  treasure  of  the  archaeologists. 
Forever  it  shall  be  beautiful. 

"L'Amour  k  Travers  les  Ages,"  the  title-page  of  which  has 
the  dedication  :  "A  Monsieur  George  B.  de  Forest  —  Henriot, 
Paris,  1891,"  begins  with  the  rape  of  the  Sabines,  illustrated 
by  a  Roman  soldier  lifting  in  his  arms  a  woman,  in  costumes 
archasologically  faultless,  and  the  legend : 

Ne  permettrez-vous  pas,  ma  belle  demoiselle,  qu'on  vous  donne 
la  main  jusqu'au  Qaartier  Latin. 

It  pictures  the  lovers  of  the  Middle  Ages,  when  "  le  mari  est 
k  la  croisade,"  of  the  Empire  and  Restoration  in  France,  of 
Goethe's  Germany,  of  Holland,  where  "on  prend  pour  pretexte 
d'aller  acheter  une  tulipe,"  and  gives  in  chapters  devoted  to 
"La  Chasse  Feminine,"  "Menus  Feminins  d'Amour,"  and 
"Calendrier  de  I'Amour,"  as  in  the  rest  of  the  book,  irre- 
proachable works  of  art. 


lOO  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

"Paris,  Fin  de  Siecle,"  1891,  a  similar  album  of  pictures 
and  legends  by  Henriot,  gives  aspects  of  the  eternal  drama  in 
transitory  scenes  and  expressions  like  this  : 

Alors  c'est  que  tu  n'as  aucun  amour-propre.  A  ta  place  je 
rougirais  d'etre  la  fenune  d'un  mari  tromp6. 

Henriot  is  an  exquisite  artist ;  he  is,  like  Moreau,  Lami,  and 
Gavarni,  a  serious  historian  ;  often  humorous,  unlike  Gavarni 
an  optimist,  he  is  ever  poetical.  He  has  the  genius  of  book- 
illustration.  "  Bibliotheque  d'un  Bibliophile,"  1887,  is  only 
a  catalogue,  although  a  catalogue  of  the  Paillet  library  by 
Beraldi.  It  is  only  a  catalogue,  although  the  notes,  by  Be- 
raldi,  surprising,  satirical,  amusing,  penetrating  as  sallies  of 
Gavroche,  may  interest  even  those  whom  catalogues  bore. 
With  his  illustrations  in  water-colors,  in  sepia,  in  oils,  Hen- 
riot has  made  it  an  ideal  modern  bibliography.  It  unites 
science,  art,  wit,  gaiety,  enthusiasm,  and  irony;  it  is  marvel- 
ously  learned  and  marvelously  comic.  The  book  is  bound  by 
Ruban  in  brown  morocco,  inlaid  with  the  book-plate  of  Pail- 
let, a  bookcase  and  the  books,  in  mosaic  of  various  colors, 
and  lined  with  red  morocco,  inlaid  with  an  open  book  of 
white  vellum. 

There  are  the  "  loie  Regiment,"  i860,  illustrated  with 
water-colors  by  De  Sta,  and  "Le  Drapeau,"  illustrated  with 
water-colors  by  Bligny,  in  patriotic,  emblematic  bindings ; 
the  "Chansons  Folles,"  illustrated  with  water-colors  by  M^, 
and  the  love-poem  of  "  Aucassin  et  Nicolete,"  1887,  so  charm- 
ingly translated  by  Andrew  Lang,  illustrated  with  water-colors 
by  Van  Muyden.  This  is  the  large-paper  copy  of  "Aucassin  et 
Nicolete."    The  smaller  paper  copy  is  bound  by  Cobden-San- 


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TRANSLATION   BY   ANDREW   LANG,  LONDON,  1887. 
BINDING  AND   DESIGN   BY  CO  B  DEN- S  A  N  D  E  R  S  ON  . 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  101 

derson.  His  work  is  reproduced  in  "Four  Private  Libraries 
of  New- York." 

It  is  deplorable  that  Cobden-Sanderson  is  not  a  bookbinder 
of  the  decade,  for  he  is  the  most  artistic  and,  \yith  the  single 
exception  of  Roger  Payne,  the  only  handicraftsman  with  ori- 
ginality of  all  the  artists  in  book-covers  of  England.  But  he 
does  not  deign  to  bind  a  book  which  he  does  not  like ;  he 
has  a  style  of  decoration  independent  of  the  books  to  be  deco- 
rated ;  he  creates  book-covers  of  Cobden-Sanderson.  The  art 
of  bookbinding  is  an  art  of  the  book-lover. 

There  is  "Au  Maroc,"  1889,  edition  of  the  "Soci^t^  de 
Bibliophiles  "  of  Lyons,  illustrated  by  Louis  Titz  with  pictures 
of  the  scenes  and  architecture  ardently  described  by  Pierre 
Loti,  illustrated  with  an  art  strangely  fascinating,  and  bound 
by  De  Samblancx  in  forms  and  colors  Moresque. 

There  are  frontispieces  in  water-colors,  made  by  great  ar- 
tists, in  many  volumes ;  there  are  ancient  missals  and  manu- 
scripts with  original  illustrations;  there  are  collections  of 
caricatures,  and  military,  clerical,  and  laical  pictures,  in  albums 
and  in  works  illustrating  army  records,  manners,  and  customs ; 
there  are  precious  relics  of  ancient  typography ;  famous  clas- 
sics ;  famous  books  of  the  nineteenth  century ;  famous  exam- 
ples of  art  in  book-covers — treasures  that  should  be  described 
here  if  it  were  not  in  the  nature  of  all  human  works  to  be 
ever  incomplete. 

In  their  place  imagine,  not  the  dull  uniformity  which  the 
indifferent  call  distinction,  nor  impersonal  elegance,  but  stair- 
ways of  ruby,  arches  of  sapphire  under  which  run  rivers  of 
melted  gold,  ladders  of  jade  to  skies  of  rock-crystal,  and 
statues  cut  out  of  giant  diamonds,  holding  in  their  trans- 
parent hands  torches  of  pink  light.     For  I  have  not  a  less 


103  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

charmed  impression  of  the  books  with  original  illustrations, 
in  bindings  of  the  decade,  made  for  the  library  of  Mr.  George 
Beach  de  Forest. 


--=??=?  ?-S''^-^^. 


A    BLUE 

DIAMOND. 

1  HE  Trianon  of  a  book-lover,  coquettish  as  the  Queen's.  A 
room  the  ceiling  of  which,  in  red  morocco  of  the  Levant, 
reproduces  exactly  the  color,  harmonious  lines,  and  lyrical 
flight  into  azure  of  a  wing  of  a  book  bound  for  Grolier. 
Tapestry  of  Beauvais  ;  etchings  of  Rembrandt,  Van  Dyck, 
Visscher,  Fortuny,  and  Lalanne  ;  original  drawings  by  Leloir, 
Du  Maurier,  Kate  Greenaway,  Blum,  Chase,  and  Taylor; 
bookcases  the  crystal  panes  in  the  dark  oak  doors  of  which 
are  lozenged ;  vases  of  the  Palace ;  cabinets  filled  with  jade, 
pouches,  inros,  netsukes,  grimacing  masks,  figurines  of  ivory, 
delicate  and  complicated  as  if  carved  by  a  thin,  epileptic  tool; 
snuff-boxes,  blue  and  white  vases,  jars,  beakers,  and  bowls; 
ancient  stuffs  pale  as  petals  of  roses  that  have  died  of  love. 
At  the  table,  carved  in  massive  oak,  on  a  Persian  carpet  of 
silk,  in  a  casket  of  lapis-lazuli,  pell-mell  with  the  rubies, 
diamonds,  sapphires,  and  emeralds,  the  treasure  of  the 
reliquary,  a  book  of  poems  not  to  be  described,  illuminated 
by  cherished  artists  with  fugitive  rays  of  sunlight,  flame  of 
eyes,  and  blushing  pink  of  lips. 
103 


104  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

At  the  table  it  may  not  be  possible  for  everybody  to  rewrite 
Pindar,  but  it  must  be  extremely  difficult  to  write  ordinary 
or  common  things,  pleasantries  against  the  bibliomaniacs, 
poetry,  the  Greeks  and  the  gods,  or  conventional  phrases  of 
praise  of  books  and  art.  There  the  imp  of  perverseness  that 
tortured  a  personage  of  Poe,  M.  Prudhomme  whose  nose 
describes  a  quadrant,  the  pseudo-classics  and  the  Philistines 
that  annoyed  Arnold,  would  have  the  air  of  masks  at  a  carni- 
val. The  laws  that  they  dictate  to  mountains  would  be  sal- 
lies of  clowns.  Their  thoughts,  that  by  an  antiphrasis  are 
called  ideas,  about  the  art  of  forming  a  library  would  vanish 
as  flibbertigibbets  when  the  splendid  Eos  appears  in  her  saf- 
fron-colored gown.  For  there  are  no  books  in  the  cases  not 
ardently  loved ;  none  prized  because  scarce  although  ugly ; 
none  admitted  because  necessary  to  a  set  or  indispensable  to 
a  system.  They  are  beautiful,  and  they  have  not  a  double 
elsewhere.  All  converge  to  the  blue  diamond  book  of  poems 
of  the  reliquary  in  beauty  and  art.  It  is  not  an  accomplish- 
ment that  may  be  lightly  given  as  an  example  to  others.  It 
is  like  drawing  the  bow  of  Ulysses,  a  feat  of  Ulysses  impossi- 
ble to  our  frail  arms.     It  was  anticipated  in  print. 

The  Fortsas  library  was  a  parody  of  a  library  formed  accord- 
ing to  the  art  of  the  decade,  anticipated  and  imagined  by  a 
book-lover  in  1840,  in  the  glorious  period  of  the  Roman- 
ticists. The  Fortsas  library  had  no  existence  except  in  the 
prophetic  and  disdainfully  ironical  mind  of  Ren^  Chalon, 
president  of  a  club  of  bookmen  at  Mons.  He  compiled,  with 
notes,  a  catalogue  of  fifty-two  books  unknown  to  everybody 
and  unrecorded  anywhere.  Hoyos  printed  it  and  sent  it  to 
the  book-collectors  as  the  "  Catalogue  d'Une  Trfes-Riche, 
mais  Peu  Nombreuse,  Collection  de  Livres  Provenant  de  la 


ORIGINAL    ILLUSTRATION    BY    VAN    MUYDEN    TO    B  R  I  L  L  A  T -S  A  V  A  R  IN    S 
''PHYSIOLOGIE    DU    GOUT." 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF   NEW-YORK  IO5 

Bibllothfeque  de  Feu  M.  le  Comte  J.  N.  A.  de  Fortsas,"  to  be 
sold  by  auction  at  Binche.  On  the  day  appointed  for  the 
sale  the  most  learned  collectors  of  England,  France,  and  Bel- 
gium came  to  Binche  with  unlimited  orders,  found  that  the 
Fortsas  library  was  a  myth,  and  went  back  to  their  homes 
persuaded  that  they  were  victims  of  a  hoax.  Certainly  they 
had  been  deceived.  Baron  de  Reiffenberg,  librarian  of  the 
Royal  Library  at  Brussels,  returned  to  the  treasury  money 
specially  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of  books  of  Fortsas. 
His  own  copy  of  the  catalogue,  one  of  the  five  copies  printed 
on  colored  paper,  is  supplemented  by  the  "Avis"  delivered 
to  anxious  buyers  at  Binche,  and  by  his  report  of  the  affair, 
entitled  "Mystification  Bibliographique,"  published  on  white 
and  on  yellow  paper.  Inserted  is  the  following  autograph 
letter  of  Willem  : 

MoN  CHER  Confrere  et  ami  : 

Vous  aurez  deja  regu,  comme  moi,  le  catalogue  des  livres  d6- 
laiss^s  par  M.  le  Comte  de  Fortsas,  dont  la  vente  se  fera  k  Binche 
le  10  aoiit  prochain.  II  s'y  trouve,  page  1 1,  No.  197,  un  recueil  de 
quelques  chansons  flamandes  imprim^  k  Londres  en  1809  sous 
le  titre  de  Specimens  of  Early  Flemish  Songs  of  the  XlVth 
Century.  Cet  ouvrage  est  pour  moi  de  la  plus  haute  importance 
puisqu'il  pent  me  servir  k  reconnaitre  quelques  chants  populaires 
que  peut-fitre  je  ne  poss^de  pas  moi-m6me  et  que  M.  Ellis  a  re- 
cueillis  en  Angleterre.  Les  planches  de  musique  surtout  sent 
pour  moi  d'un  grand  prix,  aujourd'hui  que  je  m'occupe  de  la 
publication  tr^s  prochaine  de  mes  anciennes  chansons. 

M.  Rogier  se  trouvant  k  Gand  ce  matin,  je  lui  ai  fait  sentir  I'im- 
portance  de  ce  recueil  et  cette  excellence  m'a  r^pondu  qu'il  con- 
vient  de  I'acheter  pour  compte  du  Gouvernement. 

Je  vous  6cris  en  consequence  et  vous  demande  k  genoux 
d'acheter  ce  livre  pour  la  biblioth^que,  k  tout  prix,  et  de  m'en 

«5 


I06  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK 

donner  communication  aussitot  apr^s  I'acquisition.  Je  pense 
bien  que  je  parviendrai  a  redresser  les  nombreuses  m^prises  de 
son  texte,  soit  avec  les  MSS.  que  je  possMe,  soit  au  moyen  devi- 
natoire  que  je  puiserai  dans  mes  connaissances  linguistiques. 

M,  Voisin  ira  a  Binche ;  vous  pourriez  le  charger  de  vos  com- 
missions, si  vous  n'aimez  mieux  les  faire  par  vous  m6me.  Je 
crois  qu'il  convient  de  s'entendre  avec  lui  sur  les  acquisitions  en 
g^n^ral.    Je  ne  veux,  pour  sa  part,  que  deux  articles. 

Si  ces  messieurs  de  la  biblioth^que  n'^taient  pas  d'avis  d'ache- 
ter  les  Specimens  A  TOUT  PRIX,  ou  mSme  ^  ne  pas  les  acheter  £1 
un  prix  tr^s-^lev^,  je  vous  dirai  que  dans  ce  cas  li  j'y  mettrai 
pour  moi  de  60  ^  80  francs,  et  cependant  je  n'ai  pas  un  tr^sor 
royal  a  ma  disposition. 

Je  vous  ai  adress6  Mynheer  Siegenbuk.  Sans  doute  qu'il  est 
all6  vous  voir.  Aurons-nous  une  stance  de  la  Commission  d'his- 
toire  au  mois  d'aofit  ?  Veuillez  me  faire  savoir  vos  intentions 
sur  le  volume  d'Ellis  et  me  croire. 

Tout  k  vous, 

WiLLEM. 

Gand,  20  Juillet,  1840. 

Certainly  they  had  been  deceived ;  but  Chalon  very  nearly 
explained  the  art  of  forming  a  library,  the  art  of  the  decade, 
in  the  introduction  to  the  fictitious  catalogue: 

Almost  all  the  libraries  formed  during  the  past  fifty  years 
have  been  servilely  traced  on  the  "  Bibliographie  Instructive  "  of 
de  Bure.  It  follows  that  the  works  represented  by  de  Bure  as 
rare,  curious,  sought  for,  disinterred,  preserved  by  amateurs,  are 
now  to  be  found  everywhere  as  fundamental  pieces,  and  it  has 
become  true  to  say  that  in  books  there  is  nothing  so  common 
as  rarities.  .  .  .  Count  Fortsas  admitted  on  his  shelves  only 
books  unknown  to  bibliographers  and  cataloguers.   .   ,    .    The 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  IO7 

publication  of  the  new  researches  of  Brunet  .   .   .   made  him 
lose  in  one  day  a  third  of  his  beloved  library. 

The  art  of  the  decade,  nearly  explained  by  Chalon,  is  not 
merely  to  collect  books  unknown  to  Brunet,  or  de  Bure,  or 
Lowndes.  It  may  make  jewels  of  books  that  they  lauded 
and  of  those  that  they  condemned.  It  is  an  art  of  the  book- 
lover,  not  of  the  bibliographer.  Of  course  it  would  be  easier 
to  depend  entirely  on  the  bibliographer,  and  not  to  form  a 
library  of  the  decade,  every  book  of  which  is  a  pearl  of  a 
necklace  the  string  of  which  may  be  broken  without  lessening 
the  value  of  the  pearls. 


-^ 


A    BOOK   OF   THACKERAY. 

1  HERE  are,  in  the  original,  inimitable  cover  of  cloth  de- 
signed by  Mitchell,  the  "Airs  from  Arcady,"  1884,  that 
Bunner  noted  where  the  dryads  and  hamadryads  dance ;  the 
"Paracelsus,"  1835,  of  Browning;  the  "London  Lyrics," 
Book  Fellows'  Club,  vellum  copy  Number  i,  of  Locker,  and 
his  "Lyra  Elegantiarum,"  1867,  suppressed  "in  conse- 
quence of  Mr.  John  Forster's  refusal  to  allow  the  poems  by 
W.  S.  Landor,  whose  copyright  he  was  possessed  of,  to  be 
here  published"  ;  presentation  copies  of  Dobson  and  Stedman ; 
all  the  original  editions  of  Swinburne,  among  which  is  the 
"  Tristram  of  Lyonesse,"  1882,  containing  a  letter  of  the  au- 
thor to  his  publishers  relative  to  errors  in  proof-sheets  of  the 
book;  original  editions  of  Thackeray  with  autograph  letters 
and  drawings,  bound  by  Smith,  Bradstreet's,  Zaehnsdorf,  Pratt, 
Matthews,  Mansell,  Tout,  Bedford;  "Bibliomania,"  1842,  of 
Dibdin,  extra-illustrated  with  148  portraits,  nearly  all  proofs, 
among  which  is  the  portrait  of  Dibdin  in  canonicals,  issued 
in  only  ten  impressions;  "Etching  and  Etchers,"  1868,  of 
Hamerton,  containing  this  letter,  written  and  signed  by  him : 

When  I  was  planning  the  book,  a  celebrated  and  experienced 
critic  was  so  good  as  to  give  me  some  advice.  His  first  general 
recommendation  was  not  to  write  it  at  all,  as  it  was  sure  to  waste 
my  time  and  the  publisher's  money.  If,  however,  I  did  write 
it,  I  was  to  make  the  book  very  short  and  to  be  especially  care- 
ful not  to  describe  or  criticize  any  plates  particularly  and  indi- 
vidually, but  was  only  to  speak  of  the  art  in  a  very  general  way. 
I  listened  to  all  this  advice,  but  did  not  follow  it,  and  as  the 
108 


FOUR   PRIVATE    LIBRARIES   OF    NEW-YORK  IO9 

public  has  received  the  work  with  great  favour,  I  can  only  con- 
gratulate myself  on  my  obstinacy  and  unteachableness. 

There  are  the  "Cent  Nouvelles  Nouvelles"  of  Cologne, 
1 701,  bound  by  Lortic,  uncut,  formerly  owned  by  Paillet  and 
by  Desq ;  the  "  Madrigaux  de  M.  D.  L.  S."  (Monsieur  de  la 
Sabli^re),  1680;  "Le  Diable  Boiteux,"  1707,  of  Le  Sage, 
bound  by  Trautz-Bauzonnet,  frontispiece  by  Madeleine  Hor- 
temels,  one  of  two  proofs  extant,  formerly  owned  by  Armand 
Bertin,  Solar,  John  Delaware  Lewis,  and  Eugene  Paillet ;  "  Les 
Caracteres  de  Theophraste,"  1688,  of  La  Bruyere,  bound  by 
Trautz-Bauzonnet;  "Les  Metamorphoses,"  1648,  of  the  Pla- 
tonician  Apuleus,  bound  by  Padeloup,  formerly  owned  by 
Cigongne  and  Baron  La  Roche-La  Carelle,  the  Baron  a  pictur- 
esque figure,  in  the  world  of  books  a  stubborn  classicist  in 
whose  view  the  art  of  bookbinding  began  with  the  men  who 
worked  for  Grolier  and  came  to  an  end  with  Trautz  (but  the 
Baron  was  blind  for  many  months);  "La  Princesse  de 
Montpensier,"  1662,  of  Mme.  de  La  Fayette,  bound  by  Cuzin ; 
the  "Reflexions  ou  Sentences  et  Maximes  Morales,"  1665,  of 
La  Rochefoucauld,  bound  by  Cuzin ;  "  La  Folle  Journee," 
1785,  of  Beaumarchais,  extra-illustrated  with  portraits  of  the 
author  by  St.  Aubin  and  Lalauze,  bound  by  Reymann ;  the 
"  Idylles,"  1775,  and  "Romances,"  1776,  of  Berquin,  proofs 
of  Marillier,  bound  by  Thibaron-Joly ;  "Les  Sauvages  de 
I'Europe,"  1760,  of  Louvel,  bound  with  the  arms  of  Mme.  de 
Pompadour,  presented  to  her  with  pretty  verses  inscribed  on 
the  fly-leaf  by  the  author.  No.  1974  of  the  catalogue  of  her 
books,  and  formerly  owned  by  Merard  de  St.  Just  and  by 
Guilbert  de  Pixerecourt,  "le  Shakespeare  des  boulevards" 
.  .  .  rien  que  fa!  The  "  Etrennes  de  la  Saint-Jean," 
1743,  by  the  Comte  de  Caylus,  Crebillon  the  younger,  and 


no  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

others,  bound  by  Anguerrand,  clasped  in  silver,  one  of  two 
copies  printed  on  vellum  and  formerly  owned  by  Randon  de 
Boisset,  Gontrand,  Case  de  Lalande,  La  Valliere,  MacCarthy, 
Audenet,  Baron  Pichon,  Potier,  Quentin-Bauchart,  and  Noilly; 
the  "  Choix  de  Chansons,"  1 773,  of  Laborde,  with  the  twenty- 
five  proofs  of  Moreau,  the  lyre  portrait,  and  bound  by  Cham- 
bolIe-Duru ;  the  "Fables,"  1668,  bound  by  Cape,  and  the 
"  Contes,"  1 762  (bound  at  that  period),  of  La  Fontaine ;  "  Les 
Baisers,"  1770,  of  Dorat,  the  masterpiece  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  bound,  uncut,  by  Cape.  The  "  Daphnis  et  Chloe," 
1 73 1,  bound  in  calf  with  compartments  in  mosaic,  lined  with 
red  morocco,  by  Monnier;  and  the  edition  with  plates  en- 
graved by  Audran  from  designs  of  the  Regent  Philippe  d'Or- 
leans,  1745,  bound  in  white  morocco,  lined  with  silk,  by 
Padeloup,  formerly  owned  by  the  Duchesse  de  Berry,  mother 
of  the  Comte  de  Chambord,  who  would  have  been  King  of 
France,  Henri  V.,  if  only  he  had  wished.  The  prettiest  vi- 
gnettes, collected  in  albums,  of  the  eighteenth  century,  which 
is  the  classic  century  of  the  pretty. 

There  are  books  of  the  Romanticists,  plays  of  Augier  and 
Dumas;  the  publications  of  Conquet,  Jouaust,  and  Lemerre, 
as  the  "(Eillets  de  Kerlaz,"  1885,  of  Theuriet;  the  "Voy- 
age Autour  de  Ma  Chambre,"  1877,  of  Xavier  de  Maistre; 
and  the  Musset,  1876-1877,  in  eleven  volumes,  on  China 
paper,  extra-illustrated  with  etchings  of  Henri  Pille,  Lalauze, 
and  others,  and  with  all  the  illustrations  of  Musset's  works 
available.  The  publications  of  the  Society  des  Amis  des  Livres 
— one  of  which,  the  "Aline,"  1887,  of  Boufflers,  is  bound  by 
Ruban  with  a  veil  of  lace  in  gilt — and  of  the  Bibliophiles 
Contemporains  that  Octave  Uzanne  directs;  "L'Eventail," 
1882,  "  L'Ombrelle,"  1883,  "  Nos  Amis  les  Livres,"  1886, 


t 


'•DAI-'HNIS    ET    CHLOE,"    LONGUS. 

BINDING      IN      MOSAIC,     BY     MONNIER,     I73I 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  III 

and  "La  Reliure  Moderne,"  1887,  of  Uzanne.  "Le  Trifle 
k  Quatre  Feuilles,"  of  Georges  Boyer,  presented  by  the  author, 
with  an  inscription  on  the  fly-leaf,  to  Mile.  Suzanne  Reichem- 
berg,  containing  a  letter  of  that  charming  societaire  of  the 
Comedie  Franfaise,  and  bound  by  De  Samblancx-Weckesser 
in  blue  morocco,  with  mosaic  of  white,  red,  and  green  mo- 
rocco studded  with  four-leaved  clover. 

There  are  the  "  Rommant  de  la  Rose,"  1529,  printed  by 
Galliot  du  Pre;  a  Book  of  Hours,  not  illuminated,  printed  by 
Pigouchet;  another  in  manuscript  of  the  fifteenth  century,  on 
vellum,  with  singular  miniatures  of  great  beauty;  a  "  Recueil 
de  Chants  Royaux,"  in  manuscript  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
with  miniatures;  a  Persian  manuscript  of  "Poems,"  791  of 
the  Hejira,  of  Hafiz;  an  "Office  de  la  Vierge  Marie,"  in 
manuscript  of  the  seventeenth  century,  by  the  incomparable 
calligrapher  to  Louis  XIV.  and  Louis  XV.,  Nicolas  Jarry, 
bound  in  one  of  the  twenty-two  mosaic  bindings  of  Trautz, 
in  blue  morocco  inlaid  with  white  and  pink  dotted  in  the 
style  of  Le  Gascon,  lined  with  white,  gilded  with  heads  of 
angels  at  the  corners,  and  the  name  of  Marie  in  Roman  letters 
in  the  center,  in  an  aureole  and  stars;  formerly  owned  by 
Eugene  Paillet. 

There  is  a  little  book  of  Thackeray  which  gives  a  title  to 
this  chapter  because  its  salvation  is  due  to  the  enviable  quali- 
ties that  have  made  possible  the  collection  and  mark  it  as 
the  library  of  a  book-lover.  It  is  the  "Horace"  printed  in 
1719,  by  an  imitator  of  Elzevir,  a  sextodecimo  bound  in  old 
calf.  It  is  marked  on  the  first  fly-leaf,  in  the  handwriting  of 
Thackeray,  "E  Libris  W.  M.  Thackeray  Garth.  Dom.  Alumni 
1826";  on  the  last  fly-leaf,  in  the  same  handwriting:  "E 
Libris  Gul.  Thackeray.  Garth.  Dom.  Alum.  9  Decemb.  a.  d. 


112  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF    NEW-YORK 

1826  "  ;  and  with  the  name  of"  Thackeray"  on  the  title-page. 
It  was  Thackeray's  "Horace,"  the  "Elzevir  Horace "  mentioned 
in  "Pendennis"  and  in  "The  Newcomes."  It  was  found  in 
the  bookbinding  shop  of  Matthews,  where  a  famous,  wise 
bookman  had  left  it  to  be  rebound !  It  is  intact  as  a  peasant 
would  have  kept  it,  for  peasant  and  Cajsar  are  peers. 


Wi^ 


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'^'.r^s^^BiSf'A:^' 


"LE    TREFLE    X    QUATRE    FEUILLES,"  GEORGES    BOYER. 

BINDING     IN     MOSAIC,    BY     DE    S  AMBL  ANCX-W  ECKE  SSER  . 


AN   EPIC  OF   PIERROT. 

In  the  time  of  the  Romanticists,  in  the  little  playhouse  of 
the  Funambules,  where  the  price  of  admission  was  four  cents, 
the  audience  was  a  Chorus  of  Aristophanes.  The  players 
were,  as  in  life,  merchants,  soldiers,  pirates,  bakers,  peasants 
in  crowds,  through  which  passed,  selfish  as  love.  Harlequin 
and  Columbine.  Fairies  recited  to  them  lyrics  of  Banville; 
Cassandre,  Leander,  and  Pantaloon  ran  after  them,  and  Pier- 
rot followed,  indifferent,  disdainful,  sceptical,  heeding  nothing 
but  to  preserve,  in  his  spotless  clothes,  and  face  colorless  as 
the  face  of  a  god,  the  whiteness  and  glorious  inutility  of  lilies. 

Jean  Gaspard  Deburau  then  was  Pierrot  —  a  man  of  the 
people  by  his  poverty,  his  irony,  and  his  genius;  an  idol  of 
the  people  by  his  gracefulness,  his  splendor,  his  refined  sim- 
plicity, and  the  art  with  which  he  expressed  without  a  sound 
the  innumerable  rhapsodies  of  his  poems.  Jules  Janin  wrote 
his  biography ;  Gautier  noted  for  him  odes  of  the  Olympus ; 
Banville,  Arene,  and  Champfleury  composed  for  him  heroic 
mimodramas.  Pierrot  was  originally  the  Pedrolino — fat, 
greedy,  and  silly — of  Italian  mascarades;  the  art  of  France 
made  him  elegant,  thoughtful,  witty,  more  poetic  than  the 
Gillesof  Watteau. 

In  the  Carnivals  of  Columbines  with  small  feet,  Pulcinellos 
with  sleeves  of  penguins,  Tartaglia  and  his  spectacles,  doctors 
and  druggists,  Egyptians  and  Moors,  Harlequins  and  Mezze- 
tins.  Scaramouches  with  mustache  made  of  a  straight  line 
painted  black,  Titania  and  Ariel,  Bottom  and  Caliban;  in 
crowds  blue,  pink,  violet,  and  iris ;  in  tumults  of  satins,  cries, 
x6  i»3 


114  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES    OF    KEW-YORK 

cymbals,  and  guitars — Pierrot,  agile,  dumb,  charming  in  dress 
of  snow,  appeared  with  gestures  eloquent  as  songs  of  Orpheus. 
A  painter  now  is  Pierrot ;  for  the  little  playhouse  of  the 
Funambules  is  undone,  the  Carnival  is  subdued,  and  Gero- 
nimo  has  ceased  to  do  honor  to  the  festivals  of  life  by  attend- 
ing them  in  a  mask.  In  paintings  Willette  describes  the 
frightful  ocean  of  silks,  satins,  metals,  wigs,  scarfs,  faces  red- 
dened by  fever  of  pain  and  pleasure,  that  foams  under  the 
pale  eyes  of  the  moon,  or  sobs  under  the  light  of  can- 
delabra surrounded  by  clouds  of  white  dust.  Willette  is 
Pierrot,  pale  as  a  phantom,  inflexible  as  a  King  of  Asia.  In 
the  marvelous  autobiography  of  "Pauvre  Pierrot,"  in  pictures 
the  original  drawings  of  which  are  among  the  jewels  that  the 
blue  diamond  of  the  reliquary  leads,  hetells  the  pains  of  eternal 
exile,  the  sobs  of  lovers  separated  by  death,  the  hopes  that 
vanish  into  ether;  he  tells  the  sufferings  of  beings  and 
things,  thoughts  captive  in  stones,  lamentations  of  animals 
oppressed,  and  men  a  prey  to  misery,  bent  with  hard  labor 
while  Winter  covers  the  earth  with  its  mantle  and  chills  stars  in 
the  azure.  As  Barbey  d'Aurevilly  in  novels,  and  Baudelaire  and 
Verlaine  in  poems,  Willette  in  pictures  expresses  the  modern 
mind,  the  mind  of  the  decade,  sceptic  and  pietistic — a  Gothic 
missal,  the  borders  of  which  are  in  alternating  dances  of  Maca- 
ber,  and  festivals  of  nymphs  and  satyrs.  Pierrot,  lover  of 
the  moon,  poet,  artist.  Argonaut  after  Psyche,  heads  a  long 
crowd,  undulating  as  a  serpent,  of  soldiers,  judges,  bankers 
counting  their  gold,  grave-diggers,  young  men  and  women 
crowned  with  flowers,  dancing,  singing,  voluptuous  as  priest- 
fcsses  of  Venus,  carrying  the  wax  candles  of  communicants  to 
an  abyss.  Willette,  in  pictures  infinitely  subtle  and  delicate, 
tells  the  epic  of  Pierrot. 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  II5 

The  history  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  not  perfect  with- 
out Willette ;  it  is  in  the  marginal  illustrations  of  great  artists 
that  the  psychologists,  the  Stendhals,Taines,  and  Bourgets  of 
the  future,  will  find  in  books  their  clearest  impressions  of  our 
state  of  mind.  They  may  find  of  Bouchot's  edition  of  the 
"Dames  Galantes,"  1882,  this  copy  which  has  the  original 
illustrations,  that  Boilvin  has  engraved,  of  Edouard  de  Beau- 
mont; they  may  find  of  the  edition  of  "  Manon  Lescaut," 
1875,  prefaced  by  Alexandre  Dumas _^/s,  this  copy  bound  by 
Lortic,  containing,  beside  the  plates  of  Leffevre,  Hedouin,  La- 
lauze,  and  Monzies,  and  a  vignette  by  Marillier,  drawings  in 
sepia,  pencil,  pen-and-ink,  and  gouache  by  Dagnan-Bouveret 
for  his  friend  Jacquemart;  they  may  find  of  the  "Chansons 
Populaires,  Chansons  L^geres,  Chansons  de  Salon,"  1879,  of 
Nadaud,  this  copy,  bound  by  Ruban,  containing  the  original 
illustrations  in  water-colors  of  Edmond  Morin  —  masterpieces 
of  literature,  masterpieces  of  book-making,  of  designing,  and 
of  the  art  of  the  decade. 

There  are  "Le  Roi  des  Montagnes,"  1888,  with  the  ori- 
ginal illustrations,  that  Mongin  has  engraved,  of  Charles 
Delort;  "Les  Fantaisies  de  Claudine,"  1853,  with  original  il- 
lustrations in  water-colors  of  Paul  Avril ;  "  VingtContes  Nou- 
veaux,"  1883,  of  Frangois  Coppee,  with  original  illustrations 
of  Henriot;  "  Fortunio,"  1880,  of  Gautier,  with  proofs  of 
Milius  and  Avril  retouched  with  pencil  and  sepia;  "Deux 
Mariages,"  1883,  of  Halevy,  with  drawings  and  water-colors 
of  Albert  Lynch  ;  "La  Famille  Cardinal,"  1883,  of  Halevy, 
with  original  illustrations  in  pen-and-ink  and  water-colors  of 
Emile  Mas;  "Jocelyn,"  1885,  with  original  illustrations  of 
Besnard;  "Carmen,"  1884,  of  Merimee,  with  original  illus- 
trations in  pencil  and  water-colors  by  De  Sta,  and  an  admirable 


Il6  FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF    KEW-YORK 

execution  in  the  binding  of  a  design  by  Avril;  "Les  Contes 
de  Perrault,"  1876,  with  the  original  drawings  of  the  etch- 
ings of  Lalauze. 

There  is  "  Un  Bouquiniste  Parisien,  Le  Phre  Lecureux," 
1878,  of  Alexandre  Piedagnel,  with  original  illustrations  of 
Paul  Avril.  In  the  time  of  the  Romanticists  there  were 
Deveria,  Celestin  Nanteuil,and  the  Johannots ;  and  Delacroix, 
who  often  sold,  for  forty  francs  to  a  model,  panels  and  can- 
vases. Alexandre  Dumas  refuses  regularly  every  week  50,000 
francs  for  a  "Pieta"  that  Delacroix  sold  to  him  for  500  francs. 
But  there  are  no  original  illustrations  in  books  of  Deveria, 
Nanteuil,  Johannot,  and  Delacroix.  The  book-collectors  of 
their  time  were  not  lovers  of  art  unrecorded  by  de  Bure.  It 
was  not  in  their  view  a  valuable  accomplishment,  the  collec- 
tion of  a  hundred  books  inaccessible  to  others,  and  from  which 
one  might  turn  without  surprise,  as  one  does  here,  to  minia- 
tures of  Hall,  Gu6rin,  Rousseau,  Isabey,  Gilbert  Stuart,  and 
0)sway. 

Lydia  of  Horace  need  not  talk  in  Latin,  for  the  beautiful 
word  Clarior  is  in  her  charmed  voice.  A  book  need  not  be 
in  a  particular  language,  nor  of  a  particular  subject,  to  be  the 
book  of  a  book-lover. 


It  must  be  as  a  poem  is,  noifjfxoi,  a  thing  done,  not  one  to 
he  done  ;  it  must  be  perfect.  If  it  lacks  a  line  of  text,  a  blank 
leaf,  an  illustration,  it  is  a  book  in  ruins.  I  know  that,  at  a 
recent  auction  sale,  a  Mazarine  Bible  in  ruins  brought  g  14,800 ; 
but  art  is  one  thing  and  money  is  another.  They  are  not 
relatives. 


FOUR   PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK  II7 

Of  course  a  book-lover  has  money.  Balzac  takes  care  to 
provide  his  heroes  with  well-filled  purses  in  order  that  they 
shall  not  be  annoyed  by  absurd  difficulties;  but  he  never  lets 
them  acquire  heroism  by  purchase. 


Of  one  hundred  books  extended  by  the  insertion  of  prints 
which  were  not  made  for  them,  ninety-nine  are  ruined;  the 
hundredth  book  is  no  longer  a  book:  it  is  a  museum.  Oh  ! 
the  Waltons  illustrated  with  colored  plates  of  American  gov- 
ernmental reports  of  fish  commissions!  The  Nell  Gwyns  of 
Cunningham  with  the  engraving  that  makes  valuable  Guil- 
lim's  Heraldry!  The  Bibliomanias  of  Dibdin  with  queer 
etchings  of  poor,  dear,  forgotten  Barry ! 


I 


It  was  a  singularly  perverted  idea  of  the  art  of  forming  a 
library,  that  idea  of  Grangerism,  conceived  at  a  time  when 
there  were  no  book-lovers  ! 

The  Pickering  edition  of  Walton's  "  Angler,"  1832-1836,  two 
volumes  octavo,  enlarged  to  folio  by  Trent's  inlaying  of  every 
page,  extended  to  six  volumes  by  the  insertion  of  339  portraits, 
119  of  which  are  proofs ;  692  pictures,  276  of  which  are  proofs; 
a  drawing  in  sepia,  two  pen-and-ink  drawings,  twenty-three 
water-colors.   .   .    . 

And  then,  what?  An  imperfect  book,  built  with  the  spoils  of 
a  thousand  books;  a  crazy-quilt  made  of  patches  cut  out  of 
gowns  of  queens  and  scullions.  Yet  prints  may  be  inserted 
in  books. 


Il8  FOUR  PRIVATE   LIBRARIES   OF   NEW-YORK 

A  portrait  illuminates  the  description  of  a  man  or  the  work 
of  an  author.  There  is  in  the  book  only  one  place  for  it :  it 
is  at  the  description  or  before  the  title-page.  There  is  only 
one  portrait  available,  the  portrait  of  the  man  as  described  — 
not  Napoleon  in  Egypt  for  Napoleon  at  Waterloo  —  or  the 
portrait  of  the  author  at  the  age  of  his  writing  the  book. 

In  the  chapter  of  this  book  descriptive  of  books  of  the 
vignettists  may  be  found  examples  of  books  augmented — in 
beauty,  in  interest,  and  in  value — by  the  insertion  of  prints 
not  made  for  them.     There  are  none  extended. 

Do  not  extend.  An  ideal  book  for  illustration  with  prints 
of  its  epoch  is  "Les  Caracteres"  of  La  Bruyere.  There  is  a 
personage  to  be  discovered  in  every  description.  Every  "Car- 
actere"  involves  a  portrait  the  print  of  which  maybe  found. 
To  find  the  personage,  memoirs,  anecdotes,  gossip,  letters  of 
women,  keys  similar  to  the  one  published  for  Bussy-Rabutin's 
"Histoire  Amoureuse  des  Gaules,"  must  be  consulted  and 
verified.  To  find  the  print  is  easy  comparatively  —  easy  as 
Grangerism.  ^n 

f 

A  fortune  may  be  a  positive  force  against  the  formation  of  a 
library.  Having  money,  Louis-Philippe  ordered  his  dinners 
at  the  caterer's ;  in  the  kitchens,  extinguished  and  frozen,  of 
the  Tuileries  chimerical  nothingness  was  cooked  in  kettles 
filled  with  silence  by  vague  domestics  of  solitude.  Having 
money,  Didot  bought  books  prescribed  by  Brunet  and  Dibdin  ; 
on  the  parapets  of  the  quays,  under  the  sun,  the  books  of  the 
Romanticists  were  changing  into  dry  leaves. 


FOUR  PRIVATE  LIBRARIES   OF  NEW-YORK  1 19 

Do  not  fall  into  the  error  of  those  who,  taking  for  a  pretext 
the  need  of  homogeneity,  whereof  Grangerism  is  the  deadly 
enemy,  say  loudly  that  books  should  be  bound  in  the  country 
where  they  were  published  : 

A  French  book  bound  in  London !  An  English  or  American 
book  bound  in  Paris !    Horrible,  most  horrible ! 

This   is  nonsense.      A  book   should   be   bound  well,  not 
geographically. 

If  the  mind  of  a  man  be  not  pure,  exalted,  enthusiastic ;  if 
his  heart  be  not  filled  with  the  immense  love  for  beauty  and 
humanity  that  poets  have,  he  may  collect  books,  he  shall  not 
form  a  library. 


FEBRUARY 
I  892 


&  1^ 


Universfty  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hiigard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


